W Academy
by Comic Goldfish
Summary: W Academy is the home and training ground to hundreds of potential heroes around the world. Each of these potential heroes possess a unique ability or abilities that seperate them from other humans. Inthe midst of this school for the unique, Matthew and Lovino find themselves to be an almost nonexisting case. Superhero AU.
1. Chapter 1

_Okay, you guys ready?_

The tall blond man scanned the dark lair for his teammates, each situated in various hiding locations. They, the Nordic Wolves as his team had been named, were currently underground in a previously uninhabited island situated in the middle of the Atlantic where strange energy waves had been detected. The school's founder had seen this as problamatic, seeing that the "school" was in the parameter of the energy waves. They had first been detected when a particularly large blast caused several appliamces to shut down and malfunction. A second blast had caused physical pain to two of the students. They had been hospitalized in the medical wing for weeks and the founder decided it best to investigate and shut down the cause.

Berwald stood against the wall of the underground lair, body adjusting to the textures and materials of the stone until the peach colored flesh was consumed by hard, rugged rock and he could hardly be seen unless searched for by a trained eye.

 _Mm_.

He turned to find Tino spread over several locations, each one turned to the man and gave him a curt nod, gun resting on their shoulders, aiming at the men working just beneath him.

 _Yeah_.

 _Great. How about you Lukas?_

G _et on with it already._ The man's irritation was clear, even through their telepathic link. Mathias paid it no mind and looked around, but caught no sight of him. His brows creased in worry and agitation.

 _Where are ya, Nor?_

 _What does it matter? Hurry up, classes are about to start_.

 _Fine_. Mathias watched as several men made their way around the large lab-like structure. There weren't too many of them, he'd say roughly eighty; His team had handled worse, which was a cause of slight anxiety for the man. With such large power radiating off the place, he'd expect more people present to keep any intruders out, but they had managed to sneak in. It was almost as if they thought themselves safe, but he couldn't understand why. He shook off his worries and went back to focusing on the mission. Mathias watched closely, waiting for an opening, hunched behind a couple of crates. Each member of his team waited patiently, as they had hundreds of times before, stalking their prey and waiting for his signal. All they needed was a single second of distraction; that was all they ever needed.

Two glass containers were brought into the dimly lit room escorted by more armed guards, diverting the attention of many of the men present, who approached the containers and began examining their contents.

"There, " Mathias whispered to himself, a confident smile spreading on his lips.

 _Now!_

He quickly gave his signal and jumped into action. The men were quickly alerted to the intrusion by the loud rumble as he landed on the ground with an earth shattering thud. An array of bullets rained towards him as he advanced quickly, but only knocked against the impenetrable clear blue orb that encircled him. He heard another harsh 'thud' against the hard ground and smirked as guards began being thown into any and every direction. He looked over and saw several men attempting to subdue Berwald, whose body had taken a scaley metallic appearance as the jagged rock smoothed into reflective adamantine. Mathias returned to his own fight and a couple of feet away a figure was present, seemingly appearing out of nowhere. His eyes began to glow as dark figures began rising from the shadows in the ground.

 _Luk's_! _Look out!_

Mathias turned at the warning to see a large man charging at Lukas, armed with a crowbar. His eyes returned to their natural pallor with the disruption of his summoning. He turned, panic clear in his eyes as he raised his arms to protect himself from the unexpected attack, but the man quickly dropped before any damage was dealt, a tranquilizing dart lodged in the back of his neck.

Lukas sighed, turning back to his summoning. Dark creatures sprung from the ground and began to run rampant, attacking every guard and man present as Lukas sent energy blasts at all those who neared, or attempted to escape.

 _Thanks, Tino_.

 _Not a problem_ , they replied cheerfully.

The men were quickly subdued, with Tino shooting down the last of the guards. He jumped from his various hiding places and reunited into a single person as he made his way towards the others as Lukas' creatures began disappearing. Berwald's brilliant armor returned to it's dull, soft flesh as he approached the others, and Mathias brought down his force field.

All four men gathered at the heart of the cave, inspecting the mess of bodies that lay scattered across the floor.

" Alright, so, what do we have here?"

"It looks like some sort of lab."

"Yeah, it does. Whatever it is, we need to erase every last trace of it, and figure out what was causing those energy two take care of making sure no traces of this place will be found or usable again. Berwald and I will look around for any useful intel." Tino and Lukas nodded as Mathias and Berwald broke away and walked around the room, leaving the other two to plant the bombs. A large portion of the lab was filled with what appeared to be large glass tubes. Each was contained a clear, green gel, but nothing else. Hundreds of these tubes filled the building.

"Whatd'ya think was in here?"

"Dunno, maybe nothin'," Berwald leaned forward and peered into the gel.

"Berwald! Mathias! " A frantic cry echoed throughout the cave. The two glanced towards one another, eyes full of panic before both men broke into a sprint towards the sound of the voice. As they got closer they found the two men kneeled on the ground beside the two large gel-filled tubes that had previously served as their distraction.

"T'no! What's wr'ng?" He drew closer to Tino, who turned, panic and confusion set in his eyes. He opened and closed his mouth unable to speak, his eyes watered and his body shook, and instead of speaking he pointed with a quaking hand.

Berwald followed the direction of his hand and was left stunned by the sight.  
"A-alfr'd? " The young boy floated naked in the gel. His hair hung longer, and if anything wavier, but shared the facial features and build of their adopted son. Beside them another familiar boy was trapped in the same condition.

"Feliciano! " Mathias roared, panic dripping in his voice. He threw a fist through the thick glass container, shattering the glass and causing its contents to come flooding out. Berwald did the same, pulling the boy out and laying him on the ground. Tino gently pushed Berwald out of the way and checked the pulse of both boys.

"Their pulse is slower than usual. We need to get them back to the academy. _Now_."

"Right." Mathias and Berwald picked the boys out of the mess of glass and fluid and began sprinting towards the nearest exit. They boarded the academy aircraft and the two larger men handed over the unconscious bodies to their respective partners and quickly lifted the plane off the ground. As soon as they were just over a hundred feet from the ground, countless explosions could be heard.

* * *

"Romulus get Yao to prepare two rooms in the infirmary."

Static came through followed by an almost indecipherable voice.  
"Why... something... happen?... team... okay?" Mathias let out a tired sigh. Their communicator had been busted for the longest time, but no one had bothered to fix it, seeing as Lukas' telepathy was usually their means of communication. Unfortunately, they were out of reach from the academy.

"My team is fine, but we discovered your grandson and Alfred Jones in the mission site and they appear to be injured, or unconscious, or both. I don't know, but we need to get them looked over." Mathias' serious tone made every person aboard the ship, excluding those unconscious, uneasy. There was a long pause before an incredulous voice came through.

"... impossible! ...in...class!"

"Whatd'ya mean they're in class! They're on our plane now and they need medical attention!"

Tino and Lukas held the unconscious boys closer at the statement. They looked down at the them. They were almost completely certain of who they were. Alfred was Tino's own son! He'd had him since he was 5, which made it nearly 12 years now, and Feliciano was known and loved by all. The sweet, cheerful boy was Romulus' own grandson, although no one knew how many 'great's' were needed before the grandson part was actually reached.

" ...bring...in. ... look... over...paramedics...meet you... " With that final statement, the static of the transmission ended.

"Ber... If Al and Feli are in class... then who are these boys? What were they doing in those labs?"  
Berwald sighed, unsure of the entire situation himself. He and the Dane had not managed to gather any information before their attention was focused on the two mysterious boys.

"Dunno."

As the aircraft drew closer to the ground, paramedics could be seen running out of the building to meet them, two stretchers between the six of them, followed by the school's founder himself. He wore a troubled expression as the door to the craft opened and the ramp folded out to reveal his four best men carrying exactly who they had claimed to have.

Romulus turned to the men taking the boys onto the stretchers.  
"Bring them to the infirmary and take DNA samples of each. I'll pull Feliciano and Alfred out of their classes. They need to see this. " He then focused his tired eyes to the four men standing before him.  
"Berwald, Tino, you need to come with me, I will cancel your combat classes. Lukas, the psychics' class started 10 minutes ago, Alaric has been covering for you. Go. As for you, Mathias, I expect a full report of your mission on my desk tomorrow morning, you may choose to cancel your class or not."

All four of the man gave a curt nod and dispersed. Tino and Berwald walked beside their 'son's' stretcher, watching him with a worried expression.

After several turns through the multiple winding halls of the academy, they finally arrived in the large, white infirmary. The bodies were dressed in hospital gowns and hoisted off of the stretchers and onto the soft, clean beds where they were hooked to IVs and heart monitors. Swabs were pressed into their mouths and the DNA was carried away to the adjoining lab.

At that moment two boys burst into the room, followed closely by Romulus and a stoic man with long blond hair.

Tino's eyes lit up and he ran to embrace his son. "You're okay!" He pressed his son's head to his chest, despite the fact that the other was taller than him.

"Ow! Mom! You're hurting me! " He pulled away.

"I may have super strength, but your hugs can kill," he muttered, rubbing his aching neck. He suddenly stopped, realizing what his parent had said. Looking up, he found his father watching him with an equally relieved expression.

"Why wouldn't I be ok?" He looked between the two, then turned to Feliciano, who shared his look of confusion.

"Ve, what's going on, nonno? " Feliciano looked to Romulus with wide, worried eyes. Romulus said nothing, only waved his hand to urge them towards the hospital beds. The two shared a look and slowly advanced, gasping at the sight.

"Who are they?" Alfred's voice turned demanding as he aimed an intense stare towards Romulus.

"We don't know."

" Then why did you bring them here!? They could be spies! Or shapeshifters! Or-"

"Or mutants in need of a home and a place to belong," Alaric continued, stepping forward. "We do not abandon people like us, Alfred. You should know that by now."

"Well yeah, b-but-" Alfred was cut off as screams resounded across the large room. All six men turned to find that the men that had been attending the boy resembling Feliciano caught fire, as well as anything that touched the boy and even he himself was surrounded by a roaring flame. The flesh colored cover melted off and exposed the metalic frames of the androids as they dropped to the ground, useless.

The boy was currently awake and sitting up on the bed. His eyes appeared to glow a warm hazel as they frantically darted around the room. His eyes stopped on Feliciano and he regarded him with an intense gaze. He pushed himself off of the bed, standing on shakey legs before he was able to stand straight and advance towards the boy, arm outretched and eyes full of confusion and panic.

The two boys were quickly shoved behind the four adults, who took a defensive stance as the boy drew nearer.

"Alaric, get into his mind and try to talk to him, or at least stop him." The large blond man nodded and his eyes hardened; however, he quickly crumpled to the ground. The boy also appeared to be affected, he winced and held his head in his hands, but quickly recovered and the confusion in his eyes was replaced by rage as the fire roared and grew to an exponential height.

"I c-can't penetrate his mind. It feels as if my head were set on fire."

"Shit! Can you call Francis? "

"Yes, I can try." The man appeared to go rigid for a moment, but quickly recovered. "He's on his way."

The boy stepped forward, but stopped when he heard a pained moan just behind him. The rage was once again replaced by panic and the fire died down as he turned to find the other boy flickering in and out of sight. He wore a pained expression and his breathing had become erratic. In his fazing in and out of existence, he lost his heart monitor, making it unclear how fast his heart drummed against his chest. Just as he approached him, however, he collapsed. The flame that engulfed him vanished and he lay panting on the ground. He began to panic as every ounce of his power was drained from him and looked up to find the other boy in the same condition. He dragged himself forward, only to find that his strength was being drained as well. His vision became blurry before it was completely overtaken by darkness.

"Thank you, Francis."

"Yes, I'm afraid we had trouble subduing his ability. Although subduing the other may have been unnecessay..."

"Wh't do we do 'bout 'em?"

"For now let's put them in a containment unit to neutralize their powers. Once they wake up again we can interrogate them. Feliciano, Alfred, you have the day off, return to your dorms." Alfred sent Tino a worried look, to which he responded with a reassuring smile and a brief hug.  
Feliciano appeared to be on the brink of tears as Alfred escorted him out with him. The door banged closed as the two boys retreated.

"What if the boys can't be controlled Romulus?" Tino inquired with wide, worried eyes.

"Then they'll have to be contained or their memories will be cleared so that they can start over."

* * *

 **So how did you guys like it? :D This is my first fanfic, like, ever and I really love superheroes and superhero AUs but there are, like, not enough out there ya know? So my friend got annoyed of my constant complaining about it and told me to write one myself, so I did! Although, I'm a little nervous about it... Anyway! I would love to see what you guys think!**


	2. Chapter 2

Feliciano looked up with fearful eyes at Alfred. The two had stayed, listening behind the closed doors, and as Alfred heard those words escape Romulus' lips he became stiff. His hands and jaws clenched with anger, while worry overcame Feliciano's own features. Alfred turned away, deciding he'd had enough of that topic for the day. He didn't care what happened to them. They were just cheap knockoffs anyway. He was a good distance away when he heard Feliciano call out to him. He ignored the other boy and went on his way.

"We can't let them do that to them, Alfred!" Feliciano scurried over to him, trapping one of Alfred's arms between his two.

Alfred considered shaking him off, but decided against it when he saw the boy's eyes begin to water. He sighed and stopped just before the door leading to the dorms. His eyes hardened as he addressed the auburn haired boy.

"Why not? They aren't real people anyway. They aren't even supposed to exist! And the one that looked like you was even trying to attack you!" Feliciano released Alfred's arm. His eyes narrowed and he glared at him through tearful eyes.

"You can't say that about your own brother! And my brother wasn't trying to attack me! He was just scared! You'd be scared too! Who knows what they went through before coming here! " He had stepped right in front of Alfred and began jabbing at his chest with every word, even though he knew it wouldn't faze Alfred in the least.

"Bro-?" Alfred stared at him shocked for an instant before shoving his hand off his chest. "Feliciano! Those aren't our brothers! They're _clones_! And if they did have such a bad time, then maybe it's better for all of us that their memories are wiped, even them! " Alfred stormed away, but just as he opened the door, Feliciano spoke up again, this time his voice sad and hardly above a whisper.

"He didn't mean to attack anyone, Alfred. He looked scared when he saw one of the medical robot things Eduard made drop. He didn't try to attack until Mr. Beilshmidt tried getting into his mind. And did you see, Alfred? He was worried about your brother. They haven't hurt anyone and they're going to be put into cages and their memories are going to be cleared."

"You don't know tha-"

"Yes I do!" The ferocity in his voice caused the blond to flinch, but he stood his ground. "They did it to Ludwig, Alfred! Don't you remember?! You were here a month before he was taken away! He got out of control so they took him and cleared his memory and when he was molded into a 'stable mutant' they let him out! Don't you realize how strangely he acts?! How he's always in need of proper instruction to do the simplest things?! He was practically an emotionless soldier! Alfred, I love him, but he's not the same..." Alfred had long since closed the door and was slowly making his way back to Feliciano who was hiccuping as tears slipped down his cheeks.

He sighed in defeat and glanced around, making sure no one else was present before he /"So then, what should we do?"

Feliciano looked up surprised, before he grinned up at Alfred and wiped his tears. br /"Ve, we break them out, of course! I'll meet you here at 3 a.m., no later!" He ran off to his room, before Alfred could even argue.

"Feliciano? Feliciano?" Alfred creeped through the dark dorms and into the common area just outside. He called for the little Italian in a hushed voice.

Anyone caught out of bed after curfew would be forced to undergo harsh training under Gilbert and he wasn't too keen on being caught; although the albino had been the one to teach him how to fight and was a pretty laid back guy, he was a monster as a trainer and one of the toughest teachers in the school.

Alfred let out an annoyed sigh as he combed a hand through his hair. It made it increasingly difficult to sneak out of their rooms when they were in a school full of superhumans.

He was in the center of the common area when he felt a sudden surge of wind against his back. He quickly turned, throwing a punch at whatever, or rather whoever, was behind only to find Feliciano ducking while smiling up at him.

"Damn it, Feli! You scared me, now hurry up before someone catches us." Feliciano nodded eagerly and was out of sight and back in a matter of seconds.

"Ve, Toni, Mathias, and Lars are the only ones keeping guard tonight so we only really need to watch out for Toni because of his hearing. We can just sneak past the others, right?" Alfred creased his brow in thought. With Antonio's enhanced hearing and sight, he would be the biggest problem, but it also meant that there was a lack of guards because the others were attending to a different matter, most likely the two they were trying to get to.

"What if we get there and the rest of them are there? Look, Feli, maybe this wasn't such a good idea. We'll be in some serious trouble if we get caught." Alfred looked around, suspiciously and unsure.

"Ve, but Alfred! We need to save our brothers! Don't you want to be a hero?" Alfred's head snapped back to Feliciano at the mention of the word. Of course he wanted to be a hero, they all did, that's what the school was meant for, although he did see the irony in going against the rules of a school meant to make you a hero to be a hero. Even still, with that sentence his hesitation crumbled and he walked past Feliciano and towards the doors leading into the school to investigate their situation.

"Do you even know where they are? " He opened the door slightly, finding a large wildcat pacing back and forth just a few feet away. He immediately closed the door and turned back to Feliciano.

"Ve, of course!" The cheerful boy's whisper rose in volume, making Alfred flinch.

Just behind the door a growl could be heard as the doors were thrown open. Feliciano was out the doors as soon as they opened, while Alfred rushed to hide behind them. His heart began to pound quickly and loudly against his chest. He tried to hold his breath so Antonio at least wouldn't hear it's frantic rhythm. He stared straight ahead at the wooden door that hid him from the large beast on the other side. He knew it was a matter of seconds before the man picked up on the strong scent of fear coming off of him and he mentally scolded himself for being scared in the first place.

Just as he heard the low rumble in the creatures throat draw closer until it was just beyond the door, a large crash down the hall caused it to break into a sprint in the direction of the commotion. Alfred closed his eyes and sighed in relief, slumping against the wall, but froze again when the door was torn away. He opened an eye to find his companion standing before him.

"Alfred! What are you doing? C'mon, we have to go before they realize it was just a distraction!" Feliciano ran in the opposite direction as their instructors at a considerably slower pace as Alfred followed. Behind them a conversation could be heard, no doubt the three guards attempting to figure out the cause of the noise. Alfred glanced behind to catch a peek, but was quickly pulled along by Feliciano into a sharp turn. Then, after running a few more feet, another. They came to a stop in front of the large arched wooden doors of the academy's library.

He raised a brow at Feliciano, who ignored him in favor of trying to open the door. He figured it probably wouldn't be open, so he wasn't too disappointed when the door refused to budge. Feliciano's body began to become blurry from its rapid movement. He slowly placed a hand on the doors wooden surface and slipped it through the door, unlocked it, and pushed it open from the inside. Alfred gave a quick glance around as he ducked into the library.

He had never really gone into the building, unless he was supposed to study with Arthur or was looking for Kiku, but even he thought the place was weird the few times he'd been in there. Its design was incredibly old and portraits of the school's top heroes and graduating classes hung all around dating back to the early nineteenth century. Alfred wandered around and came to a stop in front of a portrait of the school's first class.

"So, what? Is it going to be one of those movie cliches where the secret passageway is behind a book case or painting or something?" Alfred peeked behind the large painting, looking for any sign of a secret switch, or tile that pushed in. He was so focused with pushing at random places on the wall beneath the portrait, that he hadn't noticed Feliciano running to the circular center of the library that was a about a foot lower than the rest of the library. His body began to vibrate rapidly again and slowly sunk through the hollow ground.

"Hey, you sure this is the pla- Feli? Where'd you go?" Alfred began making his way towards the center of the library, darting his eyes about in an attempt to spot the boy.

"This is the second time you've abandoned me, dude. Not cool." Suddenly, the floor beneath him opened and Alfred landed with a thud at the base of the hidden staircase, denting the metal steps and breaking off a piece of the rail. Alfred groaned and sat up to find Feliciano staring at him with a look of guilt and worry. He ran over to him and attempted to help him up, but could not move the heavier boy. The ceiling closed over them and pure white lights buzzed on. Alfred waved Feliciano off and picked himself up with what was left of the destroyed rail and looked to Feliciano as if to ask what next.

The boy, realizing that the blond was fine, skipped away and down the long hall.

" So ... how do you know about this place again? And how did you open the door?" Alfred ran after him, stopping when he was walking beside him. The metal panels that lined the interior reflected their appearances and made Alfred uneasy. Every sudden movement sent his eyes darting rapidly to the wall, only to find that it was just him or Feliciano. Just a little ways ahead, Alfred could see a large door. He looked to Feliciano, but the boy looked unperturbed by it.

"Ve, Nonno brought me here a couple of times to visit Ludwig when I was younger. After a while he stopped, but I don't know why. I would sneak out and come by myself sometimes. I don't think nonno knew I could get in, or that I was watching him enter the pins, but I was." His eyes suddenly became sad and he looked to the ground beneath him. " Or maybe he didn't take me seriously enough to think I'd know what was going on... Anyway," his face lit up again, a rather forced carefree expression replacing his glum appearance." once we get past this door we won't have any powers and it'll feel a little funny, okay? " Alfred stared at the boy with a look of amazement. He couldn't comprehend how he could behave in such a way knowing what his grandfather did to his lover.

"Do you hate him? " Feliciano froze. He could feel Alfred watching him, but didn't look up, not wanting him to see the conflicted expression on his face.

"No... no, I don't think I can. He was doing what he thought was right and maybe it was right. Normal people are scared of us anyway and if Luddy got out of control and managed to escape, maybe they'd think we were real dangerous and come after us..." The auburn haired boy stared blankly at the ground before returning his attention to the heavy, metal door. He positioned his hands on it like he'd done before and slowly sank through, leaving Alfred behind once again.

The door opened with a load groan and Alfred stepped through to find black walls, unlike those on the outside. All throughout were clear holding cells, but all unoccupied as far as he could see. He turned to Feliciano, confused.

"Now what? Aren't they supposed to be here?"

"Venire. Per di qua." Feliciano waved his hand in a gesture that told him to follow, and Alfred complied, albeit unsure of what had been said.

"Um, dude, what language are you speaking? Why can't I understand you? " They walked past dozens of empty cells and came to a stop just a little ways before two containing two curled up figures, both still in hospital gowns.

Feliciano waved Alfred off and stopped in front of the cell containing the boy that resembled him. He tapped at the glass a couple of times, causing the figure to stir and sit up. He rubbed his eyes, pout present on his lips. Alfred watched as shock overcame his fearures when he spotted Feliciano. The boy dropped his hand and quickly crawled over to him. The two stared at each other in wonder and curiosity. Their similarities were uncanny, the only differences being that Feliciano had lighter hair and different colored eyes. The other boy's appeared to glow a gold color speckled with green. Alfred also noticed that their curls were on different sides making it appear as if Feliciano was looking into a mirror.

Feliciano broke their trance first. His lips broke into a wide grin as he let out a giddy laugh.

" _Fratello! Tu sei mio fratello, non è vero? Si assomiglia a me e hanno poteri incredibili come me . Da dove vieni?_ " Alfred simply watched the two converse, Feliciano chatting away happily, while the other appeared more cautious.

A pout resurfaced on the other boy's lips and his brows wrinkled in concentration.

" _Fratello? È per questo che ? Non so dove mi , no, da dove veniamo . C'era un laboratorio , e la gente , mi ma non so dove_." Feliciano's happy mood dropped for an instant, but quickly recovered as he looked towards the other boy's cage.

" _Egli è venuto con te ? È un tuo amico_?" The other boy simply nodded, turning his attention to the sleeping blond.

" _Perché siamo qui? Che cosa hai intenzione di fare per noi_?" Feliciano's expression suddenly turned horrified.

" _No niente! Siamo venuti qui per tirarti fuori_ !" He turned and signalled to Alfred to come forward.

 _" Questo è il suo fratello_ , " he said pointing to the blond. Alfred waved awkwardly, not knowing what had been said. He fidgeted as Feliciano's "brother" scrutinized him before turning to Feliciano and nodding, pleased with what he had said. He crawled over to the side of the cage connected with the blond's and began tapping at the glass until the boy's eyes fluttered open to reveal a glowing amethyst color. He looked up and smiled at the golden eyed boy, obviously relieved to see him. It was quite clear that the two didn't understand each other's languages, but they communicated through gestures and appeared to understand one another that way.

He waved shyly to their two "E-excuse me? W-would either of you happen to speak the same language as me? I think my friend is trying to say that you want to help us get out, b-but I'm not sure. Are you really going to help us?"

A look of relief overcame Alfred's features as he ran over to the boy.

"Yes! Exactly! We want to help you get out! We're _going_ to help you get out!" The caged blond was taken aback by the other's enthusiasm, but he nodded.

Alfred looked to Feliciano who was running towards the entrance.

"Hey wait! Where are you going? Come back!" Feliciano held a single finger up, instructing the other to wait a moment. Alfred huffed and turned to the brunette, noticing that he had a rather bored look on his face. He turned to his companion and explained the situation to him in a series of gestures that Alfred could not decipher.

"I-I think your friend is going to _break_ us out." A worried look coated the amethyst eyed boy's features as he looked to the brunette, then back to the direction Feliciano had gone.

"Break you out? As in _break_?"

All three turned at the sound of rapid foot steps, only to find Feliciano charging at the glass, armed with the broken rail. Alfred's face contorted into a look of horror and he quickly rushed forward to stop the boy, but was too slow, even when Feliciano was without his power. In a matter of seconds, that seemed to pass in slow motion for Alfred, the metal rail met the glass of the container causing it to burst, showering Alfred and Feliciano in tiny crystals. Blaring horns filled the dark room and the white glow was replaced by red, flashing lights.

"What did you do!? Now we're going to get caught!" His voice almost couldn't be made out above the alarms, but it didn't appear as if it would have mattered either way. Feliciano was too caught up in helping his brother stand and get over the glass without cutting his bare feet. As he passed him, Feliciano handed him the rail and pointed towards the other boy, who had a horrified look on his face.

The blue eyed boy let out an irritated sigh and put all his human strength into a swing that shattered the glass. He quickly went over to his brother and lifted him into his arms, much to the other's dismay.

"I-I can walk!"

"Not on the glass, dude. Feliciano! Hurry up, man, we gotta get outta here." Alfred set the other down and began dragging him towards the exit as all four weaved through the maze of cages. Feliciano quickly unlocked the first steel door and ran into the panel-lined hall.

As they stepped out, they felt as if a weight have been taken off their shoulders.

"Dude, now what?! No way are there not dudes with guns waiting out there!"

"Ve, I don't know. I didn't actually think this far ahead," he admitted.

"What do you mean you didn- wait. Why can I understand you now?"

"Ve, well, powers are cancelled in there so Mr. Beilshmidt's telepathic translation didn't work."

"That bastard that tried to get into my head is actually in my head?!"

"W-wouldn't that mean that we're f-found out already?"

"Seriously? I thought everyone here just spoke English?"

"Che, why would anyone want to speak such a gross language? Everyone should just speak Italian."

"Ve, actually the translation is something that just happens."

"No way, dude. English is awesome."

"I-I really think we should figure out a way to esca-"

"In your dreams, bastard!"

"Ve, I'm so happy I have a brother now!"

"G-get off me, fool."

"We're wasting time! " All eyes turned to the flustered violet eyed blond. Alfred was about to open his mouth to speak, when a booming voice echoed off the walls.

"There's no way they have gotten out yet. The others were waiting outside for them as soon as the alert went off and they haven't seen a thing. Scour the place!"

All four boys froze wide eyed. Reflecting off the metallic panel was the large, imposing figure of the school's founder.

* * *

 **Sorry for the cliffhanger, but the chapter seemed a little long to me and what better time to stop right? :D Anyway I think I should have listed the characters that have appeared so far and their abilities as they use them so I'm going to do that this chapter. I also need to translate the, probably poorly translated, Italian. (Sorry, I don't speak Italian so I kinda needed Google's help.) So if you do speak Italian and you see any mistakes please let me know :D thank you! Also! Thank you so much for the reviews, favorites, and follows. They made it way easier and faster to get this chapter finished.**

 **Superpowers:**

 **Mathias Køhler: forcefield generation, energy blasts, superhuman strength and endurance**

 **Berwald Oxenstierna: Adamantine body armor, absorption, superhuman strength, endurance, and reflexes**

 **Lukas Bondevik: Astral projection, summoning, telepathy, energy blasts**

 **Tino Vainamoinen: duplication, echolocation, superhuman reflexes and agility, healing factor**

 **Alfred F. Jones: Superhuman strength, agility, endurance, stamina**

 **Feliciano Vargas: Superspeed, healing factor, superhuman stamina**

 **Francis Bonnefoy: illusion, possession, power neutralization**

 **Alaric Bielshmidt (Germania): superhuman strength, flight, telepathy, reduced aging**

 **Romulus Vargas (Ancient Rome): Superhuman strength and endurance, flight, reduced aging**

 **Lovino Vargas: Fire and heat manipulation, infrared vision**

 **Antonio Fernandez Carriedo: animal communication, animal morphing, enhanced senses**

 **Translations:**

 ** _Venire. Per di qua_ \- Come. This way.**

 ** _Fratello! Tu sei mio fratello, non è vero? Si assomiglia a me e hanno poteri incredibili como me. Da dove vieni?_ \- Brother! You are my brother, aren't you? You look like me and have cool powers like me. Where did you come from?**

 ** _Fratello? È per questo che? Non so dove mi, no, da dove veniamo. C'era un laboratorio, e la gente, mi ma non so dove._ -Brother? That's why? I don't know where I, no, where we came from. There was a laboratory and people, but I don't know where.**

 ** _Egli è venito con te? È un tuo amico?_ -He came with you? Is he your friend?**

 ** _Perché siamo qui? Che cosa hai intenzione di fare per noi? -_ Why are we here? What are you going to do to us?**

 ** _No, niente! Siamo venuti qui per tirarti fuori_! - Nothing! we came here to get you out!**

 ** _Questo è il suo fratello_ \- this is his brother**

 **I would really appreciate it if you told me what you guys think so far :D! Thank you so much for reading!**


	3. Chapter 3

All four boys looked frantically around for an escape as the footsteps drew closer and the images in the panel grew larger and clearer.

The golden eyed boy quickly turned worried eyes to his companion.

"Do you think you can get us out?"

"I-I don't know. Y-you know I haven't gotten the hang of it yet."

"Just try it! If we don't get out we're fucked."

"Try wh-" Alfred was cut off by a tan hand placed over his mouth.

The violet eyed boy grabbed hold of the two originals while the golden eyed boy grabbed hold of him. Their reflections flickered for a moment in the panels before them as the men drew nearer.

All four froze as Romulus, Alaric, and the three instructors that had been standing guard ran past them.

"Hold your breath," Alfred whispered harshly as one of the instructors ran by. A tan, curly-haired man stopped while the others went on. He turned to the paneled wall in front of him. Taking slow steps, he approached their concealed forms until he was only inches from the golden eyed boy. His breath hitched. He turned to see his companions. Feliciano and Alfred had screwed their eyes shut, while Alfred's 'brother' stared wide eyed. Each boy was running out of breath and he knew it. His hold on his cell mate tightened when the man's head drew nearer and he sniffed the air.

The blond felt a scorching hot pain under that clenched hand. He tried to stifle a noise, but the pain was too much. All in a matter of seconds he yelped, the man before them stood straight and turn to alert his companions, and the blushing Italian headbutt him in the chest before a word could be uttered. He groaned, having had the air knocked out of him and crouched trying to regain his composure. Their bodies became visible and shouts came from the direction of the containment units, no doubt having noticed that Antonio was no longer accompanying them.

All four boys broke into a sprint towards the exit. Feliciano was already there and was opening the door by the time they arrived. Alfred jumped up the few working stairs and pulled the other boys up. When he pulled up his brother, however, he noticed the boy wince. He set him down more gently, inspecting him for any obvious injuries, but found none.

"Are you okay?" The boy simply nodded, but the question drew the attention of the golden eyed boy, who turned to look at the boy in question through guilt ridden eyes. Noticing the way the other was watching him, he sent him a small reassuring smile. The boy looked like he was about to speak, but a clamor of footsteps behind them reminded them of their situation and they went running to the surface.

In the library, Tino was positioned on the top floor, gun aimed at the entrance, ready to take down anyone who came out and Lukas had his summoned creatures spread throughout. Amongst them were other heroes who looked ready to attack.

"Mom, don't shoot!" Tino quickly lowered his weapon and his father dropped his stance, but the others remained ready to attack.

The golden eyed boy saw that as a threat and got into a defensive stance of his own, causing the other boys to join him. The two opposing forces stared each other down, waiting for someone to make the first move. Behind them a voice broke the intense stand off.

"Feliciano! What do you think you're doing? Get away from them, you don't know what they're capable of!" Romulus had ascended the collapsed stairs and was closing in on the four.

"We won't let you hurt them!" Alfred pushed his brother behind him and Feliciano did the same.

"Alfred, we're not going to hurt them, we just want to see how dang-"

"You're lying!" Feliciano stepped forward, his eyes met his grandfather's with a defiant glare.

"You did the same thing to Ludwig, but I'm older now! I won't let you take my brother away and I'll stop you if you try!" An albino man standing in the crowd stiffened at the comment, but quickly regained his composure, although with less determination.

"Feliciano, Ludwig was a danger, you knew that. Now stop being stubborn and move, that isn't you brother, we took a DNA sample. They're clones made with your genes and another unidentified gene. They're of questionable origin and need to be monitored closely before we can even consider releasing them into the world." He took a step forward and Feliciano's hands clenched.

"He _i_ _s_ my brother and if you take another step towards him I'll kill you." The ferocity in the usually cheerful boy's voice made every person in the room shudder. Everybody except Romulus.

"Don't threaten me, Feliciano. You are my grandson, and I love you, but I won't let you stand in the way of me and some _t_ _hing_ that could cause harm to others." He took another step and Feliciano was out of sight in a flash. He managed to knock Romulus over, and was throwing rapid punches that didn't do as much damage as he had hoped to the experienced hero. The golden eyed boy seethed with rage when he saw Romulus flip their position and pin the boy beneath him. His body spontaneously combusted and he charged into action, causing all others present to follow suit in an attempt to free the little Italian. Alaric quickly subdued Alfred and Feliciano with a searing flash of pain that shot through their bodies, beginning at their head, while Francis stopped the other two. They continued to struggle and fight, despite the pain and even managed to get a few hits in.

Alfred focused all the strength he could muster into subduing Alaric and freeing himself and Feliciano from the crippling pain. The attack against one of the founders prompted the other heroes to jump in and after an intense struggle all four boys were pinned to the ground, the two copies drained of their powers to make them easier to restrain.

"Take all of them down to the-"

"No! You can't do that to our son, Romulus. You can't do it to any of them. " Tino jumped down from his various locations on the second floor but did not reduce his numbers. "We won't let you." He drew nearer to the two men, stopping just a few feet away and pointed his guns. Berwald stepped forward with him, followed by the other two nordic

"They're good b'ys, Rom'lus. Ya d'dn't give 'em a chance." He pushed Tino's gun down and shook his head. The man glared back defiantly at the request for him to back down. The two lovers held their gaze on one another, Tino's full of rage and Berwald's stern. Eventually the smaller sighed and dropped his weapon acknowledging the fact that his threat would do more harm than good.

"This isn't how we should be treating them, danger or not. We won't be solving anything, we might as well be killing them." Lukas spoke up this time, his voice calm and sensible.

The albino stepped up next to speak. "I won't let you do it to them either. Even Ludwig was too much of a sacrifice."

"Hold your tongue, Gilbert." Alaric said stepping forward. On the opposing side his build was much more impressive and even a little threatening. He shot Gilbert a stern look, trying to get him to stand down. He faltered slightly, but held his ground.

"How do you know any of them are a real danger? Alfred and Feliciano aren't. The awesome me has known them since they were 5 and trained them too. They've always been good students. I'm willing to bet that they'd be two of the few heroes that graduate this place."

"That's right! And do you even really know the other two, Romulus? Berwald and I were in the room with you. Feliciano's brother didn't attack, I don't even think he knew what was happening. And as for Alfred's brother, he didn't even move from his bed. The truth of the matter is we took two boys we found from a lab on a deserted island, where they were doing whoknowswhat to them and when they woke up they were scared. You can't punish them for that, Romulus. It isn't just." Small murmurs from the other heroes followed his statement and several dropped their stance, fully understanding the situation.

Romulus gave a defeated sigh, knowing they had a point. He ran a hand through his dark curly locks and turned his eyes to the boys.

"Well, then what do you suggest we do?"

"'nroll 'em in the school." Berwald stated simply.

"Yes! Let's just treat them as if they were normal students. You said it yourself, Alaric. We don't leave our kind behind." He turned pleading eyes to the man, hoping for his support.

Alaric's brow creased for a moment as he considered it.

"Yes... you're right. It should be easy enough to arrange and that way we _can_ keep a close eye on them... It appears that that is the best choice. They will start tomorrow as students of the academy." He signalled for the boys to be released. "The rest of you are excused, tell the students that the coast is clear and return them to their dorms." Every superhuman present, save Tino, Berwald, the two founders and the four boys shuffled out of the room. Mathias, Gilbert, and Lukas hesitated, as if wanting to have a say in the decisions, but stepped out after the others without a word.

Once they were alone, Alaric turned back to the situation at hand. "What are your names?"

"O-our names?"

"Yes, were you given names?"

"N-no... I don't think-"

"Matthew." All eyes turned to the golden eyed boy.

"What was that? "

" His name, I think it was Matthew... Matthew Walker? No... it was ... Williams? They said it... I remember those bastards said it, but I ... I was only a few days old... I'm.. Lovino... or was it... Romano... I can't remember. I was too young." His mouth turned into a pout and his brow creased as he tried to remember.

* * *

He had been taken out of the gel to be tested. He was barely conscious when he was dragged out roughly and dragged to a dimly lit room on u steady legs. They wanted to see the power of his abilities again. He was hooked onto several machines and strapped down. His breathing grew erratic and his heart pounded against his chest so fast he thought it'd come bursting out. He knew what was going to happen next. He watched as the men finished strapping him in and exited the room to watch behind a protective glass. It was a two way mirror, he could feel their eyes on him as he lay helpless on the cold table like they'd done for days now.. He tried to struggle, tried to break free but he'd only managed to burn himself with the friction of the strap, then he felt it.

An electrical impulse pumped throughout his body, causing him to seize and his body to jolt from the pain. He let out a blood curdling scream, but that wasn't what they wanted, so they sent through another impulse, stronger this time. His body reacted the same way, so they repeated the shocks, each time stronger until he felt he couldn't stand it anymore. He wanted to die. He wanted the electricity running through his body to kill him. To fry his brain so that he wouldn't feel the pain amymore. The thought kept repeating itself in his head, until he felt a warmth envelop him. He opened his eyes and looked frantically around. The shocks had stopped, but he didn't know why. They'd never stopped before,not until he was uncoscious. His eyes landed on the mirror and froze.

His body had caught fire.

He screamed and struggled until he felt a sting in his arm. His body became heavy and his voice was no longer able to come out.

As his vision became blurry and his thoughts began to swim he heard two voices. He'd never heard them before, but after this they'd haunt him, awake or asleep they would echo in his mind.

Looks like little Lovino can control fire."

"Yeah. What about the other one?"

"Matthew? The little bastard's too young to test, but in a matter of days he'll be ready."

"Isn't it a little sick to be naming these things? "

"Don't be stupid. The only thing wrong with it is that the shitheaded assholes gave him the little bastard's surname. At least with the Williams kid it's different."

"Well, even then there are plenty of people that share the family name Jones and would share the name Vargas."

He heard the man scoff. "Yeah, and I'm sure they wouldn't suspect anything from their appearances."

"What does it matter? We could turn the world against them and it wouldn't affect us."

* * *

All eyes were on Lovino as his stare went blank and his body stiffened. His breathing became frantic and he began to sweat and shake until his face contorted into a look of physical pain and a heart wrenching scream broke from his pink lips. He felt the painful shock burst through him all over again, seizing his small frame.

Feliciano and Matthew called out to the boy, trying to break him from his trance. Feliciano ran over to him and held him in his arms, whispering reassuring words in his ear until he calmed down.

Alfred watched the boy in horror, then turned to Matthew, as if asking for an explanation. The boy only turned away, focusing his attention back onto the whimpering boy. He leaned over and whispered something to him that caused him to slowly nod and snap back to reality. He attempted to regain his composure, wiping the tears that had formed in his eyes and attempting to regulate his unsteady breathing.

"I-I think we should get some rest now," Matthew offered to disturb the tense silence that ensued.

"Right!" Tino chirped. He returned his duplications to the original and stood in front of the boy, holding his hands in his own, causing him to blush and drop his eyes shyly. "You must be tired, you've had so much...er... excitement today. Oh! I'm Tino, that's Berwald, and you've already met Alfred," he gestured to each as he named them. "Since Alfred has declared you his brother, and I already think of you as a second son,I'd like to extend to you the invitation to join our family."

Matthew's eyes shot up at the offer and began to search the man's face for any sign of insincerity or pity, but all he saw was a hopeful look that painted the man's features. He shifted his attention to Alfred whose face absolutely glowed at the thought of having Matthew officially be his brother.

"Wait, mom, do you mean it?" He rushed forward and grabbed Tino's arm.

"Ve, Alfred, I thought you said they weren't our brothers?" Feliciano's tone was mocking as he brought up Alfred's previous statement.

The blue eyed blond faltered and his cheeks reddened slightly.

"W-well yeah, but I didn't know Mattie _then_ , besides someone tried to copy my totally awesome self. I wasn't going to be ok with that, but Mattie's cool too, plus he has a kickass power! We could be a kickass team! What d'ya say Mattie?"br /"W-well, I-I-"

"Just fucking say yes." Matthew's head turned to find Lovino giving him a small smile. "You know you want to, so quit being a shy bastard." Matthew turned back. He opened and closed his mouth, trying to voice his thoughts, but seeing as no words came out he simply nodded. A wide grin spread on Tino's lips and he flung himself towards the boy, crushing him in a tight hug, much to the dismay of Berwald and Alfred, who worried for the boy's safety.

"Mom!-"

"T'no, I think yer crushin' him. He needs ta breathe..." The man quickly released the boy with teary eyes.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I'm just so happy. C'mon I'll show you to our family dorm." He and Alfred escorted the boy out as they both talked away happily about plans for the future and events of the past. Berwald stayed behind, smiling fondly at the three before turning to the founders.

"Wh'n does he st'rt school?"

"We need to first create some legal documents to give them an identity to be able to officially enroll both boys in the school. I will personally help them catch up in standard academics while Gilbert teaches them the basics of combat. Once they've gotten that down we'll evaluate their abilities and place them in the proper training classes. They should start within a week, but for now we'll just let them get used to the way things operate around here."

'lright, I'll let T'no know." And with that the man left, leaving Alaric alone with Romulus and the Vargas brothers.

"So then what are you planning to do Romulus? The boy's not a danger, we both know that, and seeing as Alfred's family invited Matthew to join, I believe you should extend the same welcome to Lovino. Of course it's your decisio-"

"Ve, Yes! C'mon, Lovi, I'll show you where you'll be living." Feliciano pulled the boy to his feet and dragged him out the door.

"Slow down, bastard. I cant run as fast as you!" The door slammed shut behind them leaving the two men staring at the closed door.

"I should've known... What are you planning to do, then?" Alaric turned away from the door to Romulus, who wore a very troubled expression.

"I'll leave them. Feliciano clearly cares for the boy, and they seem to be no immediate danger. Although, I'm not sure I completely trust them."

"Yes... I can't help but to feel a bit uneasy myself... Nothing can be done now though, they appear to have quite a number of supporters. Maybe we've just become more cynical with age."

Romulus let out a booming laugh. "I don't know what you're talking about, I feel as good as I did in my prime. Although _y_ _ou_ may be getting old."

* * *

 **Do YOU trust Matthew and Lovi? Cuz tbh I don't even know if I trust Matthew and Lovi... No but seriously, I dont know where I'm going with this... Actually I kinda do, but there are two directions I could go in, or that I'm considering going in I mean... Idunno. I'm on chapter 7 and I'm still kinda like "'kay... now what?" But whatever I guess~ I really don't wanna drag this story on too much, so I'm hoping I'll be done somewhere around 20 chapters.**

 **Oh! Also~ I didn't realize that I forgot to explain _how_ Feliciano could go through solid objects because of his speed. It's a thing called quantum tunneling. When he vibrates fast enough he can pass through solid objects. So thank you so much Broken Imagi-NATION for reminding me~**

 **Superpowers:**

 **Matthew Williams: Invisibility, teleportation, intangibility**

 **Mathias Køhler: forcefield generation, energy blasts, superhuman strength and endurance**

 **Berwald Oxenstierna: Adamantine body armor, absorption, superhuman strength, endurance, and reflexes**

 **Lukas Bondevik: Astral projection, summoning, telepathy, energy blasts**

 **Tino Vainamoinen: duplication, echolocation, superhuman reflexes and agility, healing factor**

 **Alfred F. Jones: Superhuman strength, agility, endurance, stamina**

 **Feliciano Vargas: Superspeed, healing factor, superhuman stamina**

 **Francis Bonnefoy: illusion, possession, power neutralization**

 **Alaric Bielshmidt (Germania): superhuman strength, flight, telepathy, reduced aging**

 **Romulus Vargas (Ancient Rome): Superhuman strength and endurance, flight, reduced aging**

 **Lovino Vargas: Fire and heat manipulation, infrared vision**

 **Antonio Fernandez Carriedo: animal communication, animal morphing, enhanced senses**

 **And there ends what was pretty much the prologue! Now it's going to be the two AT the academy on their way to becoming heroes! I'd love to know what you guys think so far!**


	4. Chapter 4

" Hand to hand combat is one of the most basic skills a superhuman can possess, but it is also one of the most important. In any given situation your powers could be neutralized and you'd need to rely solely on human abilities, one of which includes fighting. In this instance your aptitude in fighting based on strength and skill is your best friend, unless you're Alfred because, then, in any circumstance, it's your only friend."

"Hey! "

"My awesome ears can't hear you counting, Jones!" His statement was followed by some grumbling and exaggeratedly loud counting that died down after the tenth number.

"Like my awesomeness was saying, hand-to-hand combat is an essential skill to have, which is why the awesome me teaches it." Matthew became lost in his thoughts as the boisterous man continued to preach the importance of hand-to-hand combat.

A week had passed full of piles of paperwork, lectures, and orientation. The two had been dragged around the academy and shown every classroom, restroom, common area, restricted area, and even the hidden escape routes that were to be used in case of an attack in the academy, as well as outside it.

While the large structure did take up much of the island, small shops and places of entertainment were scattered here and there for the entertainment of students and teachers alike. These shops, as well as other places were run by androids, created by, the apparently well-known, Eduard, who they had yet to meet, as he was absorbed in some other "great project". They had also been told that his creations were in charge of the cafeteria, custodial duties, academic courses, and even acted as nurses in the infirmary; the last piece of information was provided to them to allow Lovino to know that no, he had not harmed a real person and in any case the machine was up and fully functional once again.

Alfred and Feliciano were more than eager to go out and enjoy themselves with their new brothers, but, seeing as the containment room was included in the restricted areas, the two were being punished through exercise by Gilbert himself. Feliciano had been running around the outdoor track for hours and was beginning to create a rut, while Alfred was in his second thousandth push-up from what Matthew could hear. His arms were beginning to quiver and his sport's uniform was becoming drenched in sweat. Matthew had been watching him and Feliciano for a while now through guilt ridden eyes.

As it had been his fault, he considered asking for a punishment as well, believing it to be only fair, but when he communicated his guilt to the founder, he disregarded the proposal. According to him, it wasn't _their_ fault and while what Feliciano and Alfred did was a noble thing, they still needed to pay the price for breaking school rules as, 'every action had its consequences.' In his opinion it didn't make much sense, but the man told him to simply drop it.

His attention snapped back to his current situation at the sound of Lovino's mocking tone.

"Then why are we the only students the _awesome you_ has?" The albino ignored his comment and instead continued with his instruction.

"The most important thing to do is to assure yourself the upper hand, usually by knocking down your opponent, and likewise, making sure you don't get knocked down yourself. So for today, you two are going to try to knock down the awesome me _with_ the use of your powers."

"Are you fucking kidding me? How many times do we have to knock you down?" Gilbert looked over to Lovino with a mischievous smirk. "Just once."

Lovini jumped to his feet and stepped onto the blue mat, already in a fighting stance. "Alright and then I can leave, right? Bring it on you pasty skinned bastard!"

* * *

Matthew winced as the fiery brunette was thrown onto the ground for what was probably the fiftieth time in the past two hours. To be fair, Lovino had gotten very close multiple times, but he was too clumsy in his movements, as if not used to controlling his body, while the albino was agile and could easily avoid most deciding blows from the other. Matthew watched him with admiration, despite his multiple failures; He found it incredible how the boy could stand, fall after fall, and keep fighting. He figured it was a matter of pride, but didn't think it a bad thing as it only pushed forward his determination.

Alfred and Feliciano had finished their punishment almost half an hour earlier and were now acting as Lovino's personal cheerleaders, yelling encouragements and praises, even at Gilbert's expense. Matthew would have cheered as well, but he found the need to take it upon himself to extinguish the small fires that caught every time Lovino was knocked down, or moved, really.

"C'mon, Lovino. You can't beat my awesomeness with such unawesome moves." He dodged a fist.

"Now you're just throwing hits hoping one will catch; You're wasting energy." A kick grazed his shirt and Matthew quickly pointed the fire extinguisher his way.

"Lovino, you need to control your anger." Lovino lunged and Gilbert decided to put an end to it. He kicked the boy's feet out from under him and held him to the ground flat on his stomach with his foot, fighting to keep down his struggling form without burning himself. Finding that impossible, he signaled for Matthew to pass him the device he held in his hands.

Lovino felt a cold wet blast against his back and stopped thrashing; his flames died down and he began to shiver at the absence of the heat he had grown accustomed to. He felt Gilbert's weight come off him and flipped over, quaking.

"Feli, go get your brother a towel."

Feliciano left and returned in an instant a plush red towel in his hands. His face appeared worried as he held it out to his brother who angrily snatched it away, face matching the shade of the towel from both anger and humiliation. The boy bent beside his brother attempting to comfort him for his loss, but was shoved off.

Gilbert offered him a hand, but Lovino smacked it away and heaved himself up. He began marching out the door, towards the changing room, only to be stopped by the sound of Gilbert's voice.

"Hey!" The retreating figure stopped abruptly, spun around, and shot him a venomous glare.

"What?!"

"You did pretty well in keeping up with the awesome me, not many people can last that long or find the courage to keep trying. So, good job." Lovino turned away with a scoff, but Matthew could see a small smile on his lips as he did. Smiling himself, he watched the other boy as he attempted to keep up his angry facade and stomped out of the training room, although with much less vigor this time.

"Alright, Matthew, you're up."

Matthew started at the sudden attention; he stood hesitantly and scurried onto the blue mat, standing uncertainly. Unlike Lovino, who had had his arms in a fighting stance and appeared to know what he was doing, Matthew stood awkwardly, tugging at the hem of his shirt.

Gilbert watched him with a raised brow and slight smirk.

"C'mon, Mattie! Kick his butt!"

The violet eyed boy nodded and took a few deep breaths. He looked up to find the man staring at him with his arms crossed, but suddenly his expression changed to shock. The red eyed man quickly composed himself and smirked, closing his eyes.

"That's one hell of a rare ability kid, but you're not gonna beat my awesomeness by just disappearing." He stood perfectly still for a moment, listening to the sounds around him. He silenced the sound of Feliciano and Alfred's cheers and concentrated in finding that rapidly thrumming heart and nervous breath. In a sudden movement Gilbert reached out, confined the boy's arm and pinned him to the ground.

Matthew's form flickered in and out of sight and Gilbert grinned triumphantly. "My awesome self has had years of training and experience after all." Shortly after the words left his mouth, Gilbert felt the form beneath him vanish completely; he fell forward the rest of the way and hit the mat with an "oomph!"

Meanwhile, Matthew sat in front of the man, watching with an amused smile as his expression turned from confused to annoyed. He let out a giggle at the sight and red eyes shot up at the sound. He didn't attack or try to trap the boy once again, but simply looked at him. Matthew leaned back when he saw that the man stared straight into his eyes, as if he could actually see the boy, and sent him a mischievous grin.

"If you think you can take down my awesomeness by just disappearing you're wrong." He stood and crossed his arms over his chest. "You don't have full control of your powers, you're going to have to appear eventually." Matthew stood as well, this time more confident and even a little excited.

* * *

Lovino was winding through the vast halls of the academy, attempting to return to the training room to watch Matthew fight after he had showered and changed. He strongly hoped that the boy was making the albino pay for having humiliated him like that. His jaw clenched at the thought. That was the most embarrassing thing he had experienced in his short life and he fully intended to make the man pay. A mischievous smile spread on his lips as he began scheming, unaware that he was heading further from his destination.

Lovino turned only to enter another empty hall. He had only made a single turn to enter the locker room from the training room, and yet he couldn't find his way back. The corridors of the school were completely lifeless with the exception of himself, as everyone was in class, with the exception of the four boys as two were being punished and, therefore, were excused from the classes, and the other two were still getting their abilities evaluated to determine the superhuman classes they would have to be placed in. As for their academic classes, Lovino and Matthew had been working with Alaric to catch up to their age group. Matthew found that he was quite good at humanities, while Lovino proved to be good at maths, sciences, and really anything to do with logic. It wouldn't be long before they joined the other students in their classes.

The golden eyed boy stopped in front of a large wooden door and cursed, reading the cafeteria was definitely NOT where he intended to go and was actually, from what he remembered, way off. He kicked the door and turned, only to crash into something solid. He stumbled back and looked up, ready to curse out whatever bastard wasn't watching where he was going. His words, however, died as he looked up to find a green eyed, curly haired man.

His eyes widened as a light blush spread across his features, made worse by the man's attention. He shifted his attention to the ground to avoid contact with the other.

"Sorry! I didn't see you there, " he let out a small laugh rubbing the back of his neck, but quickly removed it, his face becoming worried.

"Hey are you okay? Your face is really red. Are you sick? Can clones get sick?"

Lovino's coyness vanished in an instant, replaced by anger. His temperature rose rapidly as the man's words echoed in his head. Right. He was a _clone._ He'd almost forgotten it himself. He knew many people in the school were attempting to tiptoe over the fact, and to be completely honest it annoyed him, but he would much rather have _that_ than having someone acknowledge that he was some copy, some cheap knockoff. Worst of all, the stupid man hadn't realized he'd done anything wrong! So when the man reached out, he didn't say a thing to warn him.

"Your face is really red, do you have a fever?" His hand placed itself on his forehead, but was ripped away with a pained cry just as quickly as it was there. Lovino smirked amd walked around the man. Served the bastard right, treating him as if... he were a clone... which he was. An overwhelmingly heavy feeling spread in his chest and his eyes began to water despite his attempts to fight them back.

He wasn't meant to be there and the thought scared him. He knew nothing about himself; there was nothing to know about himself, "he" didn't really exist... Did he? No, there was no Lovino, just Feliciano. The real one and the defective one.

Just as his lip trembled and the first stubborn tear slipped through he felt a hand land abruptly on his shoulder. He turned, ready to yell profanities at whoever was behind him, but once again felt the words die before they could escape his mouth. The green eyed man had an incredibly concerned look on his face. He grabbed the boy's arm, then flinched away again. The man frantically looked for something to help him take hold of the boy, while Lovino watched the man, confused.

"We need to get you to the infirmary! You're burning up!" Lovino stared at the man for a minute as if to see if he was being serious because honestly, he couldn't believe anyone was that dense, but when the man's worry remained and mixed with anxiousness he knew he wasn't joking.

Lovino burst into laughter. He laughed until stomach began to hurt and his eyes spilled tears, but whenever he looked to the man the uncontrollable urge to laugh overtook him again and dissipated the heavy feeling in his chest completely. By the time he was finally able to calm himself, Antonio's worry had been replaced by confusion.

"A-are you okay?"

Lovino let out a small chuckle and nodded.

"Are you sure? Because you were really ho-"

"That's my ability, bastard" Lovino said, an amused smile spreading on his lips as he watched the gears begin to turn in Antonio's head. Suddenly the man began laughing, although in a much more controlled manner than Lovino.

"I'm sorry, I guess I forgot and then you started laughing and I thought you were delirious!"

Lovino attempted to fight back a smile as he scoffed and turned away.

"Che, as if," he said beginning to walk away.

"Hey, wait! Where are you going?" A part of Lovino wanted to keep walking and ignore the man, but another part was curious as to what he wanted. He stopped and glanced back to see the man running up to him.

"What do you care, bastard?"

"Well you're new and the academy's pretty big and I was just thinking you might get lost."

"I'm not going to get lost, bastard!"

"Then where are you going? "

"The training room!" A cocky smile spread on the Spaniards lips.

"Well then, I think you _are_ lost because the training room," he turned and pointed the direction opposite to the way Lovino was walking with the same smug grin. "is that way."

The golden eyed boy's face regained it's scarlet hue once again as he began to stutter.

"I-I knew that! C-cocky bastard! " He huffed and stormed past thd man, heading in what he now knew was the right direction.

"I'm Antonio," he said, tagging along. Lovino tried to walk faster but the man was about a head taller than him and had no trouble keeping up with his change of pace.

"You're Lovino, right?"

"Why are you following me? Don't you have a class to teach or something? Go away." Antonio laughed at the boy's bluntness, but was not disconcerted by it and continued to walk beside him.

"Nope! My classes are done for the day," he pointed in the direction Lovino had to go next and the boy complied with the same sureness as if he would have known the way there himself.

"Then go do something else! Leave me alone!" Another turn.

"Well how do you now I'm even following you? What I just happen to want to visit my good friend Gilbert?"

Lovino eyed him wearily, but turned away, rolling his eyes.

"So, how do you like it here so far? "

* * *

The two talked the rest of the way to the training room, or rather, Antonio talked and Lovino inserted a variety of sarcastic comments. Even still, Lovino found himself enjoying the other's company and even laughed a few times, one of the times being when Antonio tripped and nearly face-planted into the hard linoleum floor, but Antonio simply laughed along and continued with his conversation.

After what seemed like only seconds they arrived at the training room where they saw Gilbert fighting with seemingly nothing, or at least that's what it looked like to Antonio. Lovino, on the other hand, could see everything clearly. Matthew was swiftly moving around kicking and punching, attempting to subdue the man, while Gilbert blocked several of his attacks. They both appeared sluggish in their movements and it was obvious that they had been at this for quite some time. Matthew's abilities were beginning to fail him due to his exhaustion and Gilbert was using this to his advantage. At one point, he even managed to pin Matthew to the ground, but the boy squirmed and the two became a grappling mess on the ground. Suddenly, Matthew's body completely vanished and reappeared over Gilbert, pinning the man to the ground on his stomach with his own weight. After a moment of confusion, Matthew remembered his objective and held the man's arms down.

"How the fu-"

"Woah! Cool Mattie! You can teleport? Why didn't you do that when we were trying to break you guys out!"

Matthew got off of Gilbert and stood. He didn't think he could teleport, he'd never done it before, not even in the labs. He looked up to find Lovino watching him with a matching confused expression.

"Hey, kid? You okay?"

"Y-yeah, I'm just tired I guess. W-we're done for t-today, right?" Gilbert was surprised when he noticed that he'd returned to his timid demeanor.

"Y-yeah, good job, you can go." Matthew brushed past him and made his way out the door, followed by Lovino. Feliciano and Alfred remained sitting, looking to one another for an explanation. It was clear that Alfred wanted to follow the boy, but Feliciano shook his head. Some part of him understood that their brothers needed to work something out themselves.

Gilbert, who was equally confused by their behavior, decided to shrug it off and instead turned to his newly arrived friend. He wiped the sweat off his forehead and addressed the man.

"Hey, Toni what's up?"

* * *

"You okay, Matthew? You look scared," Lovino watched the boy worriedly, his hands were shaking and his breathing was coming out in a short, choppy manner.

"Hmm? Oh, yeah. I'm fine, it's just, I'm a little shocked. One second I'm there and the next I'm somewhere else, a-and everything went black for an instant and it was like I was nowhere..."

"What do you mean 'nowhere'?"

"I-I don't know. It was dark and it wasn't anywhere I've seen or heard of, although I guess I don't know much... But I-I don't know. I didn't like it there it was cold and I hope I never do that again. What if I get stuck!"

"Fuck... that's some freaky shit. I wonder why you never teleported before, though."

"I don't know... Anyway, what are you going to do now?" The violet eyed boy smiled brightly at him. He'd never seen or even heard of most of the things that others talked about on the island and he was more than eager to try all of them.

So far they had gone to the beach, the movies, exploring the small shops that had been set up for the entertainment of students and faculty, and had even played with their abilities a bit, although both claimed that a game of laser tag with each other was cheating.

"Let's go ice skating!" Lovino watched the boy skeptically.

" _Ice_ skating? As in ... _ice_ , that thing that melts with _heat_? What gave you that idea you crazy bastard?" Matthew's smile dropped and he returned to the timid persona he took on around everyone _except_ Lovino.

"W-well, I was watching the television and there was ice skating and it looked really fun and Alfred told me there was an ice skating rink on the island..." He began playing with the hem of his shirt, refusing to meet Lovino's eyes.

Lovini huffed. Matthew was his closest, first, and really his only friend, and he knew it was the same for the other boy. They had quite literally been raised together and had known each other their entire lives, never mind the fact that they were technically only a few months old.

"Fine, you crazy bastard, but if I melt the ice it's completely on you! Also, you need to buy me lunch before we go!" He stomped off with Matthew following closely behind, a wide smile on his lips.

* * *

 **ACK! SORRY One week late... to be fair, I was very sick last weekend and have no time during the week. Did I ever mention that I hate editing? Because I hate it! Why can't I write coherent sentences in the first draft like a normal person? I feel like I should post two chapters this weekend to make up for the one I missed, but... I am so sick of editing tbh XD Once per week is enough for me. Sorry~**

 **Superpowers:**

 **Matthew Williams: Invisibility, teleportation, intangibility**

 **Mathias Køhler: forcefield generation, energy blasts, superhuman strength and endurance**

 **Berwald Oxenstierna: Adamantine body armor, absorption, superhuman strength, endurance, and reflexes**

 **Lukas Bondevik: Astral projection, summoning, telepathy, energy blasts**

 **Tino Vainamoinen: duplication, echolocation, superhuman reflexes and agility, healing factor**

 **Alfred F. Jones: Superhuman strength, agility, endurance, stamina**

 **Feliciano Vargas: Superspeed, healing factor, superhuman stamina**

 **Francis Bonnefoy: illusion, possession, power neutralization**

 **Alaric Bielshmidt (Germania): superhuman strength, flight, telepathy, reduced aging**

 **Romulus Vargas (Ancient Rome): Superhuman strength and endurance, flight, reduced aging**

 **Lovino Vargas: Fire and heat manipulation, infrared vision**

 **Antonio Fernandez Carriedo: animal communication, animal morphing, enhanced senses**

 **I didn't include Gilbert's powers because we haven't really seen them even though he is in this chapter. Kinda the same for Eduard. I mentioned him, but he hasn't really done anything. Anyway! Thanks so much for reading, sorry if it was a slow chapter. I would really like to see what you guys think :D!**


	5. Chapter 5

Lovino was soaked by the time they left the skating rink. He had fallen down multiple times and a mixture of embarrassment and anger had caused his blood to boil, almost literally. The ice beneath him would melt each time he fell and formed a puddle that drenched his clothes. Matthew, on the other hand, was a natural. His smooth, graceful movements contrasted Lovino's own choppy, clumsiness. In the end Lovino found himself content, or as close to it as he could be while being soaking wet, to simply watch Matthew enjoy himself.

"How are you doing with your family?"

The sun was just setting as the two trudged back to their dorms. Matthew was all but skipping, while Lovino was dragging his feet making a gravelly noise as the soles of his shoes ground against the pavement. Prior to the statement they had been padding along in a comfortable silence, but Lovino found himself slowly becoming curious and maybe even a little concerned for his friend's new living arrangements.

"They're great! Mom is really nice and funny and he's always making these silly mistakes, although sometimes he can be a little embarrassing. Like how two days after we met, he bought me a plush polar bear," Matthew giggled at the memory. "He said that since I never got to have one as a little kid, he wanted me to have one. It's really soft! And dad used to scare me a bit when I first met him, but he's really nice too and he carves these really cute toys and they really love each other, mom and dad I mean, and I thought it would be awkward, since I'm ... well not _really_ a person, but they treat me as if I were my own person instead of an extension of Alfred. Alfred and I get along really well too! I mean, sometimes he gets a little carried away with his own strength, like when we were throwing around a baseball he threw it really had and he kinda hit my stomach, but after that I realized it'd be better if I dodged the ball... What about you? You and Feliciano seem to be getting along great!"

"Yeah, the little bastard's nice to have around I guess, but he's always trying to drag me places and introduce me to people and spend time with me." Matthew saw a small quirk of his lips as he spoke. For all Lovino had complained, Matthew knew he enjoyed his brother's attention. It made him happy that Lovino was happy too. He didn't remember everything about the labs, as most of his life was spent unconscious in the gel, but from what he did remember, Lovino had always been miserable, whether he was taking Matthew's punishment, or he was talking and fighting back and getting his own.

"But that Romulus bastard, I hate him."

"What, why? " Matthew snapped out of his thoughts.

"He fucking hates me. When I first got there he acted as if I weren't there, but I guess Feli told the fucker to stop pretending like I didn't exist so now he just pretends he cares and asks me how I'm doing, but I know it doesn't fucking matter to him and I swear everything would be better if he just fucking disappeared."

Tears had built up in his eyes as he spoke and Lovino cursed himself for it. It was the second time he'd been so easily affected by his emotions and he was sick of it, but he hated the constant reminder that he wasn't real, or at least, wasn't his own person and Romulus made it clear to him that he understood that and valued him as much as he would value a lamp or a chair. The golden eyed boy tensed at the feeling of weight on his shoulder and something constricting his arms. He turned his head slightly to find that Matthew had rested his chin on him and had wrapped his arms around him. He met Lovino's own curious glance with a bright grin.

"Don't worry, Lovi. Things will get better, maybe he'll figure out how awesome you are." Lovino laughed at his statement.

"Did that pasty bastard's speech rub off on you already?"

"N-no." A blush spread across his face and Lovino's laugh died down until he was sending Matthew a mischievous smirk.

"Uh-oh. Does Mattie have a crush on his trainer? tsk tsk Mattie, you're being a bad boy, maybe he'll punish you if he finds out." Lovino let out a malicious laugh as he poked the boy's side.

"S-stop it! D-don't say things like that!" Matthew pressed the back of his hands to his cheeks in an effort to cool them.  
"I-it's just... he's so cool and confident and he tries to act tough, but he was so nice too an-"

"Nice?! That bastard sprayed me with a fire extinguisher!" Matthew only laughed, picking up on Lovino's playful tone.

"So, then, what? You like the strong cocky types, Mattie?" Lovino sent Matthew another mischievous smile.

"N-no! H-he just seems nice a-and happens to be g-good looking. It's just a small crush stop teasing me!" Matthew huffed and turned with a pout.

"Good, 'cause that guy's like twice your- er... actually... more like 25 times your actual age... shit. We haven't been around too long, have we?" Lovino's smile dropped and he turned a concentrated gaze to the ground.

"No... I guess not, but that just makes everything more exciting doesn't it? We have the ability to both understand and appreciate things everyone else encountered at an age where they couldn't appreciate anything and now take it for granted." He nudged his companion softly, but Lovino simply scoffed and turned away.

"Yeah, or it's even fucking worse, seeing as we didn't get to enjoy those damn years, or even the months we were alive up until now!"

"Oh? I thought you said your brother was annoying and your grandpa was evil?" Matthew sent Lovino a wide, mocking grin that grew as the boy blushed.

"I-I didn't mean I like it now, bastard! I just m-meant-"

"Yeah, sure Lovino. I know what you meant." Matthew dismissed his comment, a small smile still gracing his lips. Lovino shoved the boy playfully causing the other to stumble.

Matthew laughed, but did not retaliate to the well-deserved shove. They had finally reached the common room that lead to the dorms. A couple of people were present, all students that neither of the boys had met due to their lack of normal classes. The others watched them for a moment, some even waved "hello" thinking them their counterparts. Matthew found the attention unnerving and was out of sight in seconds, although still walked alongside Lovino.

"Mattie, you did the invisible shit again."

While Lovino had reacted to the overwhelming attention and interaction with violence and rudeness, Matthew became unnerved, and his shy nature caused his ability to turn him invisible without him even noticing as a sort of defense mechanism. It caused quite a few problems for both boys. For one, the invisibility meant he would not be seen or acknowledge, even if he wanted to be, and for the other it meant that people thought he was a violent, aggressive, schizophrenic psychopath, which could arguably be considered worse...

"Shoot!" He sighed in frustration attempting to regain visibility, but failing as he was in the presence of more people than he was comfortable with. "I really hope we get our classes soon, I can't get the hang of my ability." He heard Lovino grunt in agreement as they entered the dorm hall and made their way into the family housing area.

While students were from around the world, several families, whether they be siblings, partners, or adopted families like Matthew's, attended W Academy. It was to be expected, seeing as the mutations that gave them their abilities were genetic and, therefore, hereditary. If students didn't have a family, they could choose single dorms or they could choose to share. These dorms were located on the left wing of the school. The children, young, usually rejected, mutants that the school found and took care of, shared a large living space towards the back of the school, with more escape routes than the left or right wing combined. Each wing was patrolled by instructors for "the safety of the students," but Lovino knew it was because they didn't want any mutant having fun with their powers at the expense of the school or other students.

There was one case Lovino heard from Matthew, who obviously heard it from Alfred, about a, now hero, student who went through a rebellious phase and snuck out, climbed to the roof of the school and used his ability, which was more sorcery than a superpower, to disrupt telepathic translation. When the instructors and students awoke the next day, they found that no one could understand each other leading to quite a bit of chaos as tensions rose and people began to become fights broke out, and, well, being as they had superhuman abilities, the academy suffered quite a bit of damage. It took a while to locate the student, and even longer for the founders to tell him what they wanted him to do, but soon enough everything was back to normal, or rather, as normal as it could have been.

They climbed the final steps and Matthew slid the key into the lock, his form flickering into sight once they were in a more secluded area, but the door was pulled open before he could even turn it.

"Matthew, there you are!" The small, violet eyed man pulled the boy into a tight hug. "I asked Alfred where you had gone, but he said he didn't know and so I looked around but I couldnt fi- Lovino! Why are you all wet? Get out of those clothes, you'll catch a cold! " Tino pulled both boys inside and sent a copy running off to fetch Lovino some clothes.

"W-well, Lovino and I decided we'd g-go ice skating." Matthew began to tug nervously at his shirt. He knew he should have told his parent first! Now the man was going to scold him for running off without asking for permission. He winced when he saw the shadow of the man move, but instead of any pain he felt lips press against his forehead.

He looked up, startled, to find the man smiling at him, an adoring look in his eyes. "Well I'm just glad you're safe, but you should tell me before you go out so I don't send out a whole search party." Matthew let out a soft laugh and nodded, a smile gracing his lips.

"Lovino, does your grandfather know where you were? He must be worried, it's getting dark out." Lovino scoffed and turned away. "He doesn't care." Tino handed the boy a change of clothes, what looked to belong to Matthew and frowned.

"I'm sure that's not true-"

"Where's your restroom, I'd like to go change." Tino blinked at his response, unsure of how to react or even of what to think at the abrupt change of subject.

"O-oh... um, it's down the hall to your left." Once Lovino was out of sight, Tino turned to Matthew with worried eyes, to which Matthew responded with a sad smile.

He wanted to ask what Lovino meant, but decided it was something that Matthew really had no right to tell so he opted to let it go for the time being.

"So, how was it? " Matthew gave him a confused look. "Ice skating, I mean."

"O-oh, um, it was really fun, but Lovino didn't like it because he kept falling," Matthew let out a soft giggle and his parent smiled at the light-hearted mood that pushed out the other's glumness. Matthew continued to recall what had happened at the rink, all the puddles he had to skate around and how he had to escort Lovino off the ice because he couldn't do it himself.

It was then that a door clicked shut and padded footsteps could be heard down the hall. Both blonds ceased their conversation and turned. Lovino cradled his clothes in his hands, having changed into sweats and a shirt that were one size too big.

"Oh, you can leave that in the hamper in the restroom, Lovi. You know what, actually I'll wash it right now," he said, making his way over to the boy, taking his clothes, and ruffling his hair as he walked away.

Matthew laughed as he saw Lovino' s face go red and escorted him into his room. They both sat on Matthew's bed, backs against the wall. Once situated, Matthew turned and grabbed a plush white bear and rested his head on it. Lovino scoffed, but pet it nonetheless, smiling at the soft feeling of the fur. The two sat in a comfortable silence for a few minutes, just thinking.

"How's your shoulder? " Matthew lifted his head from his toy and looked to Lovino, confused.

"Hm? What do you mean? "

"W-when we were escaping, that curly haired bastard got real close and I burned you. Are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine! It didn't even hurt that much!" Lovino watched him skeptically, but sighed and turned away knowing Matthew, if he were hurt, wouldn't let him know otherwise.

The two sat and talked, joking, laughing, and teasing each other until there was a light knock at the door. Tino stepped in and handed Lovino his clothes, ruffling hair once again, and turned to address Matthew.

"Mattie, Mathias came by, your dad and I have to leave for another assignment. Alfred said something about Kiku before he ran out, so I think he's staying over to play some video game. I'm not sure when we'll be back and I know this is the first time we left since you got here so if it makes you feel uncomfortable, Lovino you're more than welcome to stay over. Also, do you remember the escape routes in case something happens? Good, also if you have trouble with anything, call Eduard. You know Eduard, right? You know how to contact the infirmary too ri-"

"M-mom, I'm sure I'll be fine..." Matthew looked completely overwhelmed by everything his parent was saying to him, while Lovino watched Tino ramble worriedly with an amused expression. A larger, sea green eyed man stood at the door, having quietly crept in only moments after Tino, and Lovino flinched at the sound of the other, much deeper voice.

"T'no, he'll be f'ne." There was an almost nonexistent amused tone in his voice as he spoke. Matthew sent him a look of gratitude, while Tino turned to him, worry clearly coating his features.

"But Berwald! He's my baby, you can't expect me not to worry especially when I'm supposed to leave him alone! What if the academy gets attacked while we're not here! You know Matthew gets uncomfortable and disappears in large crowds! They'll leave him behind! I'm the only instructor that /can/ se-"

"A-actually, Gilbert s-seemed to sense me when we were training t-today," Matthew added in timidly. Lovino smirked at the light blush that bloomed across his cheeks.

"Can he? Oh, but with all that commotion would he even be able to? Berwald, maybe I should sta-"

Berwald sighed and placed a hand on Tino's shoulders, lowering his head to his eye level.

"Ya did th' same thing with 'lfred, Tino. The school hasn't b'n attacked, 'ver. He'll b' fine." His tone was softer in an attempt to soothe Tino's nerves. It worked, as the man physically relaxed and bowed his head.

"Okay, let's go," he said, giving Matthew a kiss on the head and leaving the room. Berwald lay a hand on the boy's head, ruffled his hair, and mumbled out a soft "b' safe," before he followed Tino out the door.

The two boys were silent for a long while.

"They seem nice..." Lovino had a sad look in his eyes as he looked down at his hands. Matthew moved closer to Lovino and rested his head on his shoulder. The boy gave a start and looked down to see Matthew staring up at him, a small smile on his lips.

"Can you stay with me?" Lovino scoffed and turned away to keep the other from seeing the grin that spread on his lips.

"Only 'cause you need me here, bastard."

* * *

 **I'M SLOWING DOWN ON MY UPDATES AND I DON'T MEAN TO! I'M ALSO SLOWING DOWN ON THE CHAPTERS UGH! Looks like I'm not gonna do so well on posting new chapters after chapter 7... Anyway, a little bit of fluff? Just a little bit? I'm trying to ease myself into this whole romance writing thing.**

 **Superpowers:**

 **Matthew Williams: Invisibility, teleportation, intangibility**

 **Mathias Køhler: forcefield generation, energy blasts, superhuman strength and endurance**

 **Berwald Oxenstierna: Adamantine body armor, absorption, superhuman strength, endurance, and reflexes**

 **Lukas Bondevik: Astral projection, summoning, telepathy, energy blasts**

 **Tino Vainamoinen: duplication, echolocation, superhuman reflexes and agility, healing factor**

 **Alfred F. Jones: Superhuman strength, agility, endurance, stamina**

 **Feliciano Vargas: Superspeed, healing factor, superhuman stamina**

 **Francis Bonnefoy: illusion, possession, power neutralization**

 **Alaric Bielshmidt (Germania): superhuman strength, flight, telepathy, reduced aging**

 **Romulus Vargas (Ancient Rome): Superhuman strength and endurance, flight, reduced aging**

 **Lovino Vargas: Fire and heat manipulation, infrared vision**

 **Antonio Fernandez Carriedo: animal communication, animal morphing, enhanced senses**

 **No new superpowers in this chapter but next chapter yes :D... I think... Actually I can't remember... Thank you for reading and I'd love to see what you think! :D**


	6. Chapter 6

Another two weeks had passed before Lovino and Matthew were deemed ready to be integrated into normal and superhuman classes. Lovino found himself in energy projection, summoning, and transformation classes, while Matthew was placed into Gilbert's combat class, which apparently consisted of people other than the two boys, a transformation class, and had to be placed in the psychic class due to the lack of anyone who could actually teleport at the school. On top of these courses, the boys were given academic classes that fell within their age. Given that the academy was small in size, the two shared most of their classes, except two superhuman courses. Matthew's parents had still not returned and his worry was beginning to take a toll on him.

* * *

The blond boy was currently enthralled in his brother's spar against another of equally, if not larger, build. The boy was also blond with blue eyes, but, unlike his brother, had slicked it back and appeared very serious and calculating in his movements and attacks. That day, like every other sparring day, classes were held outside, much to the other's advantage. Ludwig, as he had heard the boy been called, was Gilbert's younger brother, despite the fact that he was much more mature. Matthew had remembered him as being the boy that led to the dispute when he had first come to the academy, and had also heard Lovino complain about him countless times. The mentions of him had peaked his interest, causing him to study the current match, and even the boy himself, curiously to see what he would have been like had his brother and Feliciano not saved him.

Alfred had just sent a bone crushing punch at his opponent's jaw that sent him flying across the arena. The slap of skin against skin resounded across the empty stadium, defined by the sickening crack of Ludwig's jaw. In any other case, Matthew may have feared for their safety, but he knew that Gilbert wouldn't have paired him with Alfred if he didn't think the two equally matched. Ludwig was quick to get to his feet and wiped the small trail of blood that ran down his chin. His bodied had become bruised from the longevity of the match, but he was still standing strong.

Next to Matthew, Feliciano began to fidget anxiously. He could see how the boy would flinch and recoil at every blow dealt. It was a swift kick to the stomach that sent Ludwig crashing against the wall across the stadium that caused the boy to get up and leave his seat in a hurry.

"C'mon, dude, I've been kicking your ass since we started this match, either give up or start fighting back!" Alfred sent him a cocky grin, before turning to the stands where the students who had, or were waiting to fight, sat. "Hey, Mattie! How's that? Your big bro's pretty awesome, huh?"

Just as Alfred had turned away from his opponent, probably too confident to think him much of a threat, the earth beneath Ludwig had begun to rise and mold itself into what appeared to be a large hammer. He charged at Alfred too quickly for Matthew to even warn him, and swung it straight towards his stomach. The whole thing shattered, but not without having caused a bit of damage to Alfred in the process. He hunched over, draping an arm protectively over his stomach, unable to regain his breath as Ludwig struck him in the jaw with the same force that Alfred had dealt him. His body was thrown across the arena, in the same way Ludwig's had, sliding against the rough ground after it had landed.

Their audience held their breath as they watched Alfred's body lay on the ground, seemingly lifeless. Gilbert stood cautiously as well, unable to determine how severe the damage was. It wasn't until the body stirred that everyone physically relaxed, including Gilbert, whose expression had become annoyed.

Alfred groaned, arm slung over his face. "Not cool, dude!"

"Shut up, Jones, that was your own fault! One of the most basic things to know for hand-to-hand combat is not to turn your back on your enemy, the other is not to underestimate your enemy and you did both. The winner of this match is Ludwig. Take your seats." Ludwig nodded and made his way over to Alfred, helping the boisterous blond to his feet and off of the arena.

"Alright, Leon, Matthew, you're up next." Matthew sheepishly made his way down to the center of the arena where Leon already stood, waiting. The two boys shook hands, calm black eyes meeting shaky violet. The two parted and stepped back, got into a fighting stance, and waited for Gilbert's signal. He walked up to the two and stopped just a few feet away.

"Are you two ready?" Both boys nodded. "Alright, start." He waved them off and returned to his seat in the stands, crossing his arms.

The second those words had left Gilbert's mouth, the raven haired boy slung an orb of energy at Matthew and one behind him. Matthew felt his whole being being sucked in the direction of the small pocket of energy and was suddenly spit out in front of Leon. Unable to keep up with what was happening, Matthew found himself helpless to stop the kick that came at him full force; Matthew only had time to shut his eyes, but reopened them when the painful blow never came. He was now situated a few feet away from his opponent whose back he was now facing as he calmly surveyed his surroundings for any sign of him. The violet eyed boy smiled to himself and charged, full force, at the unsuspecting boy.

Just as Matthew raised his arm to strike, Leon turned and Matthew's eyes met his own. At that sight the violet eyed boy found that his resolve crumbled and his abilities began to fail him. Having caught sight of Matthew at last, Leon grabbed his arm and threw him over his shoulder and onto the hard ground.

Matthew let out a loud "oomph" as the wind was knocked out of him and the impact left him momentarily stunned, too stunned to even react as a fist approached his face, lightning fast.

"Stop! Alright, that's enough, stop the fight." Leon froze, just centimeters away, as Gilbert stood from his seat and ran to the scene along with Alfred.

Realizing the fight was now over, the dark eyed boy instead stretched out his hand to help his companion up just as Gilbert ran up to the two, with Alfred not far behind.

"Mattie, are you alright? Do you need to go to the infirmary or something, bro? I can go get Katyu-"

"N-no, I'm fine. I-I probably shouldn't have gotten distracted, but I'm fine. Nothing's broken, see?" He moved around a bit to prove his point, but couldn't help but wince at the pain that surged through his back. His brother caught sight of his discomfort and was confronting the guilt ridden boy at once.

"Dude, Leon! You know he's as weak as a human!"

"Really, Al! It's my fault, besides it's not Leon's fault he's stronger than me. You've hit me harder plenty of times!" Matthew stepped in between the two, facing Alfred.

"W-well, yeah, but that was totally an accident! _He_ could have killed you with that first kick!"

"I'm sure he didn't mean to! It's easy to get carried away. You were going all out on Ludwig, too!" Matthew threw his hands up in exasperation, forgetting all about his coy nature in front of his brother. He stepped closer to Alfred, standing to his full height, allowing their similar statures to show.

"Ludwig can take it. _You_ can't." Leon backed away from the two, having been all but forgotten in their spat. Gilbert stepped up and pat his shoulder, nodding back towards the others as a way of telling him to take his seat. The raven haired boy nodded, but not without casting a glance at the timid blond, who he had yet to apologize to. Gilbert shook his head, signalling that it probably wasn't the best time, and the boy nodded and walked back to his seat.

"I'm not a child, Alfred! I can survive being thrown in a sparring match!"

"Alright alright, that's enough. No fighting in the arena unless my awesomeness declares it." He pushed the two apart, then turned back to the class, that was still awaiting his instruction.

"The winner of the match was Leon. That's it for today, class is over! Now get out of here, go change!" All of the students walked out, with the exception of Matthew, who was locked in place by Gilbert's stare. Once the others had left Gilbert turned his full attention to the boy in front of him.

"Are ya sure you're okay? Not just the fall, but you slipped up right when you were going to land a blow. You were doin' well when we were practicing, so what's wrong? " Matthew fidgeted and glanced down at his hands. "Are you uncomfortable with all these people around?"

He considered the question. It might be that he was a bit uncomfortable, but he knew it wasn't that, or at least _just_ that. Matthew shook his head no. He heard Gilbert sigh and was guided towards one of the benches.

" Alright, what's wrong Mattie? It's not just the sparring that's got you messed up, right? Lovino said you'd been kinda quiet lately." Matthew looked up, detecting genuine concern in the man's voice and seeing it reflected in his eyes.

"W-well Mom and Dad have been g-gone for a really long time and I'm just w-worried, plus none of my teachers have been able to see me in any of my classes, and I would have been marked truant if it weren't for Lovino and someone sat on me in my transformation class and I don't wanna hurt anyone! I was about to hit Leon, but I couldn't bring myself to hurt him or anybody! I don't want to do that..."

Gilbert hummed in understanding. Matthew was a sweet boy, so he understood how he would have trouble now that he actually had to _hit_ people. As for his classes, he knew Matthew wasn't the most vocal of people, so he didn't doubt that his presence went undetected. He only wondered how long that person had sat on him. All-in-all, Matthew didn't seem to be doing so well in his new environment.

"You know, " violet eyes looked up at the sound of his voice. " Your parents were some of the best heroes this place spit out, other than the awesome me, of course. They'll be fine, and you don't really need to _hurt_ anyone in the tournament, just prove your worth as a hero."

"The what?" Gilbert blinked in shock.

"The tournament? It's like the exit exam for the school. Once you've completed the required academic courses you can compete to graduate and become a hero. It's held right here. Did nobody tell you about that?" Matthew shook his head again. He wondered why they would leave such an important piece of information out during his orientation. A part of him worried that it was because the founders considered him ineligible to become a hero, but he attempted to reassure himself that they must have simply forgotten and shook the thought away, deciding that he didn't know very much about Gilbert and was rather curious.

"How many tries did it take you to graduate? " Gilbert cackled at the question, as if it were the most ridiculous thing he'd been asked.

"Of course my awesomeness graduated after the first try! Toni, Franny, and I would go out on assignments all the time! No villain or criminal could stand against my awesomeness, and I guess Antonio and Francis were pretty cool too. " He sent a smirk towards Matthew and winked, causing the boy to become flustered, but a certain thought confused him.

"Why don't you go on assignments anymore? I heard from Lovi that Antonio goes, and Alfred says Francis goes, and classes get canceled sometimes because the instructors go on assignments, but why don't you? " Gilbert's smile faltered for an instant, but was quickly replaced, albeit more forced; He let out a strained laugh and turned towards Matthew.

"My awesome power was too overwhelming for the world to handle, so my old man and Romulus decided I wouldn't go on any more missions. You know, to keep people from being blown away by my awesomeness."

Gilbert's smile infamous smirk faltered again and Matthew decided not to pursue the topic of _how_ it happened, but he was still rather curious about Gilbert's power.

"I thought your power was enhanced senses and abilities?" Matthew cocked his head to the side. Gilbert let out another strange cackle and wrapped an arm Matthew's shoulder.

"As if the awesome me would have such limited powers!" He turned his attention away from Matthew and scanned the arena for any dispensable object, finally laying his eyes on a tree some twenty feet away. He nodded towards it, sending a cocky grin to the boy beside him.

"Watch." Just as Matthew obediently shifted his attention to the object in question, beam of light shot out of his eyes, aimed at the sapling . In a matter of seconds its shape collapsed and it was reduced to a pile of dust.

Matthew could only stare at it in awe, as it took him a few moments to completely comprehend what had happened. The complete destructive power of Gilbert's ability overwhelmed him and even scared him a little.

"T-that's terrifying." He didn't mean it in an offensive way, but was too shocked to determine the impact the words would have on the man beside him. His mind began to wonder if he had ever used it on a person, or if he had ever lost control before. It must have been terrifying when he first developed his ability, if not for him, then for those around him. He also began to wonder what Gilbert had done to be bumped down from his role as an active hero. Surely the destruction he could cause was very high, but he couldn't help but wonder how high. His thoughts began to fill him with fear for the man beside him, and he couldn't help but feel a sudden discomfort at his close proximity.

"Don't worry, birdie. I wouldn't hurt you." Matthew saw, what he thought was, a small reassuring smile spread on the man's lips and he couldn't help but believe him. He physically relaxed and reprimanded himself for being so foolish as to fear someone who had shown him nothing but kindness since he had arrived, and who he had actually become quite fond of.

Deciding that it was best to change the subject, Matthew searched for a possible topic. His mind stumbled upon the one thing that had been plaguing his thoughts for quite some time. He put on his best smile and puppy dog eyes, the same that had done wonders at breaking down Lovino's will, and tugged at Gilbert's shirt.

"Gil?" The man looked up, surprised by the sudden use of his nickname. He found that Matthew had moved closer, no longer worried about his safety. "I was wondering if you could keep me company for a bit? Lovi has classes until 4 p.m. today and I'm not really good around other people and Alfred's hanging out with _his_ friends and I over think things when I'm alone and I keep worrying about me pare-" Gilbert raised a hand to stop him, a wide grin on his face.

"So you want my awesomeness to help distract you, right? Awesome, we're going to the park." He stood from his seat and Matthew followed suit. Unsure of what he was going to do next, Matthew sat, dumbstruck that Gilbert had actually agreed, and even more shocked at his sudden change of behavior.

"T-that sounds great... oh, um, b-but I should change a-and shower first." It suddenly occurred to him that he had been sitting out under the hot sun for the past two hours and he began to feel ashamed at the thought of having sat next to the man covered in sweat and having had him have his arm around him, but Gilbert didn't seem to mind only nodding and sitting on the bench.

"Alright, go change and shower, I'll wait."

"W-won't you get bored?"

"My awesome thoughts make me incapable of being bored." Matthew let out a soft laugh as he walked towards the locker room. Talking to the man really helped him clear his mind of his previous worries, but caused new worries to bloom. What if Gilbert got sick of him? What if he thought he was boring? He knew he wasn't the most interesting person in the world, at least not his personality, his origins still seemed to be a hot topic.

Those thoughts continued to consume his mind even as he approached the arena. Once again, a small part of him couldn't help but think the worst, that the man wouldn't be there, that he'd grown bored or decided he'd changed his mind, but when he stepped in he saw Gilbert still on the bench, now laying down instead of sitting. His eyes were closed and his arms were behind his head, probably thinking. A single red eye popped open as Matthew stepped onto the arena. It quickly looked over Matthew before the other opened and a confident grin spread on Gilbert's face. He jumped up and walked towards the small town, looping an arm around Matthew and dragging him out as he passed.

* * *

Tino's rapid footsteps echoed through the empty halls as he quickly approached the founder's office. Romulus was attending to some paper work when the small Finnish man burst through his doors, agitated and out of breath. He looked up and, upon seeing who it was, stood cautiously and made his way over to him.

"Tino, wha-"

"They want to come." Romulus stared at him, confused.

"Who-"

"The world leaders. They want to come and see the school."

"That's ridiculous! Why the sudden request?"

"I-I dont know they've never taken much of an interest, but at the meeting they said that they needed to see the school or they'd be forced to ban us from entering any country." Romulus stayed quiet for a moment, face distorting to show his annoyance.

"T-they said it was just to see how we operated, to make sure there would be no future dangers... "

"Son of a bitch!" He slammed his fist on the table, then turning his anger on Tino. "I established my school on open waters so they couldn't fuck with it or my kind and if they think they can send government bastards to 'watch' the school operate, then they are gonna have another thing coming. So you go back and tell them that I don't regulate their schools to make sure they don't spew the criminals my alumni protect them from, so they have no right to step foot on these grounds!"

The small man held his hands up in surrender as he spoke, fearing for his safety in the presence of the outraged hero. "... I-I'm sorry. I can't, they've already set it in stone. I'm afraid that if we reject their request they'll practically declare a war..." Romulus became enraged. He looked just about ready to hit something and Tino was becoming wary of his actions when Alaric stepped into the room.

"Tino, you can go. I'll call you back when we need more details. " The man looked hesitant, looking back to Romulus for instruction. He quickly flicked his hand, telling him to go, but just as he approached the door, Romulus called out to him.

"Where's Mathias?"

"H-he... w-well him and the others are still trying to talk some sense into them... I'm the only one that was... well... _allowed_ to leave." Tino bit his lip nervously. To be completely honest, it was more like they were being held there as a kind of security that Tino would return with answers, mainly invitations to the school, but he decided not to let Romulus know that for his own safety and for the safety of all others, furniture included.

"Tino, I think you should leave." Tino nodded at Alaric's urgent tone and scampered out of the room.

* * *

 **HAHA! I'M LATE, BUT NOT THAT LATE! So, originally this chapter wasn't supposed to have new heroes, but then it was kinda boring to read. Ya know? Like, no action, so I added two fight scenes and introduced Ludwig (finally), although there's not much you can take out in terms of his personality from this appearance... BUT ANYWAY! Things are starting to build up! :D**

 **Matthew Williams: Invisibility, teleportation, intangibility**

 **Mathias Køhler: forcefield generation, energy blasts, superhuman strength and endurance**

 **Berwald Oxenstierna: Adamantine body armor, absorption, superhuman strength, endurance, and reflexes**

 **Lukas Bondevik: Astral projection, summoning, telepathy, energy blasts**

 **Tino Vainamoinen: duplication, echolocation, superhuman reflexes and agility, healing factor**

 **Alfred F. Jones: Superhuman strength, agility, endurance, stamina**

 **Feliciano Vargas: Superspeed, healing factor, superhuman stamina**

 **Francis Bonnefoy: illusion, possession, power neutralization**

 **Alaric Beilschmidt (Germania): superhuman strength, flight, telepathy, reduced aging**

 **Romulus Vargas (Ancient Rome): Superhuman strength and endurance, flight, reduced aging**

 **Lovino Vargas: Fire and heat manipulation, infrared vision**

 **Antonio Fernandez Carriedo: animal communication, animal morphing, enhanced senses**

 **Leon Wang (Hong Kong): portal creation, superhuman speed, agility, and strength**

 **Ludwig** **Beilschmidt: elemental transmutation, superhuman endurance and strength**


	7. Chapter 7

As soon as the door clicked shut Romulus began to shout obscenities and destroy any unsuspecting object in his line of vision, while Alaric stood by, unfazed. In the hundreds of years the two had known each other, Alaric had been witness to dozens of Romulus' temper tantrums, which were usually satiated by the opposing party, when they realized the dangers of angering the man, or when Romulus had destroyed enough things to cool his rage down to a slight simmer.

"Not _allowed_ to leave? This is bullshit! If they think they can hold captive _my_ men, then-" Alaric sighed and rolled his eyes at Romulus' empty threats.

"Romulus, what do you want us to do? Do you want us to fight back? We'd be forcing every student and instructor to sacrifice their lives. Even if we do win, we'll be seen as an enemy to humans. We'll be hunted down and hung on the walls as trophies." The blond man kept a steady tone, attempting to restore a calm air to the tense room, but his nonchalant demeanor only served to anger the rampaging man even more.

Romulus set down a chair he had been ready to fling across the room and fixed Alaric with a glare that would turn every other mutant alive into a quivering mess.

" And what do _you_ suggest we do?" He snarled at his response, standing to his full height.

"We should call a meeting. Gather all the world's heroes and discuss this with them. " Alaric took a few steps closer to the man to prove that he wasn't going back down, but stopped short of reaching him so as to not ignite any physical conflicts.

"And what do we do about my men until then?" he demanded, pounding on the ebony desk beside him. A harsh crack was heard and it split in two, but both men simply ignored it and kept their eyes set on each other.

"There's nothing we can do for now. I'm sure they wouldn't have let Tino come back if they were in any real danger and there was nothing Tino was hiding as far as I could tell." Alaric took another step forward, still hesitating at the murderous glare in the other's eyes. He knew Romulus was upset, his mind was practically projecting cruel intentions to him, but he thought it unnecessary and too irrational to provoke him any further. Even still, he felt his own anger rising from the way the other was addressing him, but getting angry would only lead to stupid decisions and would cause more trouble in the end. So when Romulus turned to yell at him again, he held his tongue.

"Why the _f_ _uck_ are you so calm? Some of them are your descendents aren't they? Are you just going to leave them there and tell yours-" Alaric briefly froze at the criticism, but regained his outward composure, although his words held more venom than before.

"I've let you do much worse to my children Romulus, remember that." The man in question tensed and cleared his throat. He broke their eye contact to avoid the cold stare Alaric sent him and turned instead to the window overlooking the school's courtyard.

Students were lounging on cement blocks, under trees, and on the grass, while others, mainly the younger ones, ran around chasing each other and playing. In the distance he saw the children playing in their own sectioned off area. He remembered when Feliciano used to go to school in that area. The boy had been his pride and joy, and finding him was one of his happier moments. The boy had been so young, barely 4 years old, when Romulus had taken him up from his panicked parents and brought him to the school. He was always a happy boy, and Romulus couldn't help but want to protect him. It was on one of his observations of the class that he noticed that Ludwig had been acting strangely.

The boy had been hanging around Feliciano more and more, he was willing to admit that, but he had become rather violent as well. He would lash out at random students, and even Feliciano would noticeably shy away from the boy or tense up at the sight of him. He had become difficult to tame, and he couldn't allow him to continue acting up, no matter Alaric's insistence that it would pass. It was around the same time that Gilbert had become trouble as well, and Romulus couldn't help but wonder what the boy would become if he was allowed to continue the way he was.

"It was for a good ca-"

Alaric stormed up to the man at those words, crushing the remains of the table. Those were words he'd heard time and time again from the man, and words he'd used in an attempt to reassure himself. Lately, he'd found himself questioning the man's motives and coming up with an assortment of theories. It had first begun when he saw the man's willingness to lock up not only someone who shared Feliciano's genes and appearance, but the boy himself when neither had done anything drastically wrong. Hearing those words now, however, ignited in him a burning rage that he had attempted to subdue for years at the sight or even thought of the boy.

"Don't try to make a fool of me, Romulus! It was for _your_ greater good. Did it really upset you so much that he took an interest in your boy? How dangerous could a 5 year old possibly have been? He hadn't even built up his powers, and yet you took him and wiped his memory clean! You are very dear to me Romulus, but don't you speak of protecting one's own when you've done nothing of the sort. Do you think Francis _likes_ being your dog? Cleaning up any 'messes' you see? He was the one who had to tell Feliciano, for fuck's sake! How do you think that made him feel!?" Romulus geld his ground and stepped even closer to him, the two now only inches apart and both trembling with rage.

"Don't you dare fucking accuse me of doing that to Ludwig out of spite!" His jaw was clenched, hands fists at his sides. He screwed his eyes shut and attempted to steady his breath.

"Then what else was it, Romulus?" Romulus backed down, turning away with a sigh. He knew where this was headed and he knew he should stop them both before fists started flying. In all the years they'd known each other, they'd only fought twice and it had led to the destruction of whole towns.

"Get out and call your fucking meeting." Alaric nodded, although he knew Romulus could not see him, and silently walked out the door.

Once it had shut, be could hear loud crashes, crunches, and the shattering of glass, but he continued on his way.

* * *

"The circumstances have been made clear to you, so I would like to hear your opinions on the matter," Alaric stood before a large congregation of heroes, most adults with the exception of one.

Raivis had been a very shy boy, but very studious and talented as well. His talents had allowed him to skip academic classes and pass superhuman classes with flying colors. With such extraordinary skill, no one could protest when he became one of the youngest heroes in existence.

"I-I think w-we should just let t-them come?" he said timidly and unsure.

"I agree, there's no harm in allowing them to see our establishment, maybe we'll even develop stronger relations." A long haired blond man just a few seats down scoffed at the statement.

"You can't possibly be that stupid, eyebrows. Clearly they aren't interested in peace and relationships if they're willing to hold the Nordics captive."

"I'm sure they didn't hold them captive, it must be some sort of misunderstanding. " It was Gilbert's turn to snort at the statement.

"Seriously, Toni, you're so gullible. You need to start seeing the shitty side of things instead of being so optimistic. Franny's ri-"

"Just because _you're_ bitter doesn't mean everyone has to be, Gilbert. Antonio's right it's probably just a misunder-"

"Actually," a bespectacled brunette said adjusting his glasses, " I agree with Gilbert, Elizabeta. If they wanted to come they should have-"

"Should have what? It's almost impossible to find this school, maybe they thought it was the only way to get the message through. Why does he even get to have an opinion? He's not even a hero anymo-"

"Fuck you!" Gilbert stood abruptly, causing his chair to go flying back. "Go back to your shit pansies. How is that even a fucking superpower? Oh! Here come Elizaveta! Watch out! You might get fucking allergies! " The long haired woman stood, too, causing people on either side of both to scoot away, knowing what was coming.

"Go fuck yourself, Gilbert! All you can do is destroy things, and you don't even need a power for it! You mess everything up, you couldn't even get your brother under contr-" Gilbert lunged, only to be pulled back by Antonio and Francis.

In a matter of seconds, the meeting turned to chaos as heroes began to argue and shout, and some even began to throw punches. The table , as well as some chairs were turned over, and some were even destroyed. Even so, no one paid any mind as all were standing, attempting to be heard over the opposing side. All except for Tino, who sat staring at his lap at the far end of the long table. Even Alaric managed to get involved, attempting to get the others under control. It took some time, but eventually he managed to regain some peace, although the animosity was clear in their eyes.

"Where the fuck is Romulus, anyway? Shouldn't he be here?"

"We had a dispute on how things should be handled and he refused to attend." The man's naturally stoic expression remained present on his face as he responded, seemingly unfazed by the other's absence. "Now, we need to come to a decision," he sent a pointed look around the room, as if daring them to begin another argument.

"Lars?" The man shook his head no.

"Bella?" She gave a wary look to her brother, but slowly nodded.

"Antonio?" Another nod.

"Francis?" He shook his head.

"Elizaveta," She looked down at her hands and nodded.

"Yao," he shook his head as well.

"Roderich," another no.

"Raivis?" Another yes.

"Gilbert?" He simply turned away with a scoff that Alaric decided was probably a no.

"Arthur?" He nodded as well.

"Tino?"

All eyes turned to the nervous blond, who stared down at his hands. The decision lay in his response, but he seemed unable to make up his mind. On one hand, he didn't know what would happen to Berwald and the others if he disagreed; the men seemed rational enough, polite, although a bit demanding in their requests; however, that single action worried him. On the other hand, that was all the more reason to refuse disclosing the school's location, they were willing to deny the others their return, almost threatening them in their manner of detaining them. He decided to give them the benefit of the doubt. Maybe they did simply want to see the school to advance their knowledge on the superhuman race. Tino slowly nodded and that was all Alaric needed to make his decision.

"Tell them that W Academy agrees to allow them visitation."

* * *

 **Okay... this time I am really late... But, on the bright side AP TESTING IS OVER! HAHAHA! I thought classes would be more relaxed after that, but no. I still have a lot of homework... I think I'll do better on updating, though... Maybe... Actually, I haven't been working much on the chapters lately either... I'm sure it'll be fine :D! Either way, so sorry :0! Oh! I just turned 18 :D! That's not really important to the story I'm just happy about it XD.**

 **Matthew Williams: Invisibility, teleportation, intangibility**

 **Mathias Køhler: forcefield generation, energy blasts, superhuman strength and endurance**

 **Berwald Oxenstierna: Adamantine body armor, absorption, superhuman strength, endurance, and reflexes**

 **Lukas Bondevik: Astral projection, summoning, telepathy, energy blasts**

 **Tino Vainamoinen: duplication, echolocation, superhuman reflexes and agility, healing factor**

 **Alfred F. Jones: Superhuman strength, agility, endurance, stamina**

 **Feliciano Vargas: Superspeed, healing factor, superhuman stamina**

 **Francis Bonnefoy: illusion, possession, power neutralization**

 **Alaric Beilschmidt (Germania): superhuman strength, flight, telepathy, reduced aging**

 **Romulus Vargas (Ancient Rome): Superhuman strength and endurance, flight, reduced aging**

 **Lovino Vargas: Fire and heat manipulation, infrared vision**

 **Antonio Fernandez Carriedo: animal communication, animal morphing, enhanced senses**

 **Leon Wang (Hong Kong): portal creation, superhuman speed, agility, and strength**

 **Ludwig** **Beilschmidt: elemental transmutation, superhuman endurance and strength**

 **Gilbert Beilschmidt: disintegration, superhuman endurance, agility, and stamina**

 **Thank you so much for reading :D. I'd love to know what you think~!**


	8. Chapter 8

"Gil! Wait!" The man turned, only to find Elizabeta running after him, pushing through the small crowd of heroes filing out of the conference room and out of the school's main building. He tensed, but waited for her to catch up.

Any word of malice or abuse died on his lips at the sight of utter regret on her face. She looked up at him wide-eyed and a little out of breath.

"What-"

"I'm sorry," she interrupted. "I shouldn't have said those things about you or Ludwig. I love him. You know he's like a brother to me, and I know how much he means to you, too. You had every right to be upset about what I said."

Gilbert scoffed and turned away. He wanted to reject her apology and tell her to fuck off, but another glance made him stop short. She, of all people, had experienced first hand the pain and worry when Ludwig began acting up and the fear of Alaric's tenseness around the boy.

It was clear something had been bothering the man, and it was proven more serious than previously expected when Romulus moved Feliciano from the founder's house, along with Elizabeta and Roderich. In that time her and Roderich had been the closest to the boy, sometimes spending more time with him than even Gilbert. Ludwig became more agitated in that time, having lost his only friend he began acting up more and more, and Gilbert's own distraction had worsened to the point where a mission had resulted in too many casualties. She tried to argue for him, for both of them, but Romulus had made his decision. Ludwig became a blank slate, and Gilbert was forced to step down from his role as a hero. He had held so much promise, graduating from the academy at such an early age; however, it was after that that more restrictions were placed on who could be a hero, and how soon they could graduate. Through all that, Elizabeta, along with a few others, had stood by his side. He knew her apology was sincere, now he just wanted to know what prompted her to her outburst.

Gilbert turned back to her, looking her over, as if searching for the answer on her person.

"Why do you want them here, anyway?"

"We're not normal-" Gilbert let out a bitter laugh.

"So what?! What does it matter?! We're better than normal! We have _gifts_ Elizabeta, and-"

"But don't you ever wish you were normal?! That you could live around them without being scared that you'll hurt someone?! You've been here since you were an infant! I haven't! I knew what it was like to be there, so many of us did. To always meet new people and not worry about what happens in the world and cry and laugh and gossip over stupid senseless things in sweet ignorance. Don't get me wrong, I love you, and Roderich, and Leo, and this place so much, but we're practically trapped on this island unless we learn to fight, and even then, we can only go out there such a small number of times and there are so many rules, but maybe if they meet us, if they _see_ us doing something that isn't fighting we can go back! Maybe they'll take us back and let us live with them and make it easier for us to li-"

"You really are stupid." She froze, looking at him through wide eyes before her face distorted in anger.

"What-"

"If they're coming here, it's not for our best interest, it's for theirs. They wouldn't go out of their way otherwise. This is only going to end badly for us and you're all too stupid to see-."

"You're a hypocrite!" Gilbert raised a brow, amused by her weak counter argument. It was only when he saw that the confrontational spark had returned to her eyes that he became more serious.

"At least what we're voting to let in are people. You let in those two boys knowing they were hardly the same species. Even worse! They were picked up from who knows where! If anything is going to cause trouble at this school, it's them!"

"At least they're like us! At least they won't think us freaks or weapons! They didn't hold anyone captive to get into this school and they're more victims than anything." Gilbert's tone became more fierce as he turned his whole body to face Elizabeta. She backed away at the ferocity in his tone and his confrontational stance, but quickly regained her composure.

"That _boy_ is going to be your downfall, Gilbert. It's written in the stars and the wind whispers it, too." With that, she turned and marched away.

"Too bad I don't believe in your fortune telling bullshit," he muttered, knowing she wouldn't be able to hear him. Gilbert tucked his hands into his pockets with a final glance in the direction Elizabeta had gone and began to walk home.

Elizabeta could damn well leave the island if she wanted to. The older Kirklands did it just a few years back, and a very small number of heroes had been resigning over the past decade. All she had to was swear to give up any further use of her abilities or, at the most, have the wiped clean by Francis or Alaric, although few mutants resorted to that, not wanting to lose that side of themselves. She wanted it all, and she couldn't have it. It was a popular philosophy amongst the students that your allegiance was to either the mutants, or humans, not both. Of course, they protected them and fought for them, but they knew they wouldn't be accepted for the dangers they were thought to be. It infuriated him that she even _wanted_ to go back after being attacked once her powers came out, but what angered him most was that she would try to drag two innocent boys down with her.

Her words echoed through his thoughts. It wasn't like Elizabeta had precognition; Yao was the only one of their kind in the entire academy who did, but she did have a sort of connection with the natural world which made her even more annoying. Time and time again he'd heard her 'I told you so's', but, in his defense, most of the things he did were too stupid for there to not be a consequence. Even still, there she would be acting as if she were the only person who knew what he was doing was stupid. Like a mom, like an older sister if he took into account how much they argued. She couldn't be right about this, though. She was just angry, just wanted to make up for her own shortcomings.

Matthew and Lovino were good kids, Matthew couldn't hurt a fly, he knew that much. As for Lovino, he was all talk when it came to actually harming anyone. If he weren't, Antonio would have been burned to a crisp like he'd promised countless times. The thought made him chuckle to himself. The only person the kid hadn't threatened, because he _had_ practically threatened the whole school, was Matthew. It was obvious why, above knowing each other since they were brought into the world, Matthew was too sweet to possibly threaten, harm, or even offend. The kid was so innocent it was incredible, in both appearance and demeanor. He was caring and had the sweetest smile and the brightest eyes and was just all around cu-

He was torn from his thoughts by a long-haired slender figure running just a few feet ahead of him. He cautiously approached the man, but stopped when the form quickly glanced around. There wasn't a person in sight, and almost all the lights were out, excluding a few distant gleams from the dorms. Confirming that, he changed to a young boy, before breaking into a run again, heading towards the children's section.

Gilbert hesitated, but quickly ran after the boy, catching him by his arm and pulling him to a stop.

"Peter? What the hell are you doing wandering around at this hour? And why the _fuck_ were you posing as Yao?"

A certain panic overtook Gilbert and was mirrored in Peter's eyes. If Peter had heard, he would tell all the other students about the arrival of the humans, and that would, no doubt, stir some arguments and concerns. If it had brought the heroes to fists and sparked a sense of need to be reinstalled into a normal society, it would surely divide the younger, less controlled students. More importantly, if Peter had been Yao at the meeting, that had meant that the only man who could possibly warn them of an impending danger, whether it was true, or simply Gilbert's pessimism, was gone.

Peter didn't answer, only stared back with wide eyes that were quickly becoming glassy.

"Peter, where is Yao?" Gilbert's grip on him tightened instinctively, while the boy squirmed and tugged to be released.

"I-I don't know. I went t-to the infirmary because I fell while I was playing with Leo and Marcello, but Mr. Wang wasn't there, only Miss Kat, s-so I asked where he was, but she didn't know either a-and then I heard the grown ups talking about a meeting, so I- are humans really coming here, Gil? I don't want them to come here. This is our home, not theirs. You can't let them come here!" The small boy stopped his squirming and grasped Gilbert's arms, his voice full of both fear and indignation.

The man in question didn't know how to respond. Of course he shared the younger's sentiment, but there was nothing either of them could do to stop them. The most they could do was be prepared. He squat down so that he was level to the boy's eyes and gripped his shoulders.

"Listen to me, okay Peter? I don't want you to tell anyone what you heard, it would cause too many problems, but I want you to be ready for anything. If anything looks wrong, if you even feel uneasy, I want you to get yourself and all the other kids somewhere safe. You know where all the escape routes are, right? Good. I promise I'll protect you and the others if anything happens." Peter, who had been listening intently and nodding along the whole time, stopped, the worry still clear on his face.

"But- but we can't just hide and hope no one finds us, Gil! I.. I want you to teach me to fight! I want you to teach all of us to fight." Gilbert found himself staring into determined eyes and smirked. Peter would make a great leader one day.

"Gather all the kids who are old enough to fight and I'll make sure to teach you to protect yourselves with or without my old man's approval. Now c'mon, you'll be in some deep shit if anyone see us out here."

"Oh, that's easy!" Peter sent him a triumphant grin as he took Yao's form once again and began to make his way back to the child's section with Gilbert.

* * *

 **I'm back! This is the first of three chapters that I have started, the other two are still being written, but almost done! (I'm not making any promises about updates, though.) Anyway, it's been a while, so I had to reread most of this XD. I made some kind of timeline thingy, too, but I lost it... I graduated :D! I registered for my college classes, too! I'm... I'm not going to do so well on Mondays for the next 16 weeks XD. So, yeah.. Anyway! Gilbert doesn't seem to trust the people that are coming, and even if he didn't get his way he's not giving up without a fight! I hope you don't mind that I reduced the age of, like, 3 characters... I think it was 3... Also hope you don't mind I made Kugelmugel Elizabeta and Roderich's kid. That was mainly because I thought it was kinda cute XD. It's Leo btw, the full name is Leopold Edelstein because I guess that's the most popular one? Marcello is Seborga and I made him, like, 10... I think? I'll find my timeline eventually... I think I pushed down Luxembourg's age, too? I haven't given him a superpower yet, so I won't introduce him until I sort that out. Heck, he might not show up at all! I wanna add Ladonia, but I can't fit him into the timeline... Also! Elizabeta was initially supposed to just have plant manipulation, but then there was that thing I added and didn't feel like changing and now she's like super upgraded to nature manipulation, which is... it's one hell of an upgrade... I had to erase every superhuman enhancement I had added because she was a little overpowered.**

 **Elizabeta Héderváry: nature manipulation**

 **Peter Kirkland: Shapeshifting, superhuman endurance, reflexes, and agility**

 **Matthew Williams: Invisibility, teleportation, intangibility**

 **Mathias Køhler: forcefield generation, energy blasts, superhuman strength and endurance**

 **Berwald Oxenstierna: Adamantine body armor, absorption, superhuman strength, endurance, and reflexes**

 **Lukas Bondevik: Astral projection, summoning, telepathy, energy blasts**

 **Tino Vainamoinen: duplication, echolocation, superhuman reflexes and agility, healing factor**

 **Alfred F. Jones: Superhuman strength, agility, endurance, stamina**

 **Feliciano Vargas: Superspeed, healing factor, superhuman stamina**

 **Francis Bonnefoy: illusion, possession, power neutralization**

 **Alaric Beilschmidt (Germania): superhuman strength, flight, telepathy, reduced aging**

 **Romulus Vargas (Ancient Rome): Superhuman strength and endurance, flight, reduced aging**

 **Lovino Vargas: Fire and heat manipulation, infrared vision**

 **Antonio Fernandez Carriedo: animal communication, animal morphing, enhanced senses**

 **Leon Wang (Hong Kong): portal creation, superhuman speed, agility, and strength**

 **Ludwig** **Beilschmidt: elemental transmutation, superhuman endurance and strength**

 **Gilbert Beilschmidt: disintegration, superhuman endurance, agility, and stamina**

 **Thank you so much for reading :D. I'd love to know what you think~! Wish me luck finding that damn timeline... I swear it was in one of my bags...**


	9. Chapter 9

A month later found Matthew and Lovino were scrawling down some answers to their homework as a strange whirring noise could be heard outside. The two had heard the constant coming and going of the academy's own aircraft, but the noise made this particular day was very different. It wasn't the high pitched cut of the air the academy's sleek, black vessels made. It was a more conspicuous, clumsy noise, almost as if there were a stutter each time the object moved, that drew both of their attention. They looked to each other for an instant before Lovino stood and wandered over to a window with Matthew peeking around him to catch sight of the strange object landing on school grounds.

Apparently, other students were unfamiliar with what was happening as well, as many stopped walking, training, and some even stepped out of the dorms to have a look. The sleek, black form of an academy vessel was followed by a much bulkier, white craft that reminded Lovino of an insect. Both landed just as, what looked to be, Alaric stepped out to greet them. Out of the school craft came the four men the two boys recognized the Nordic Wolves, from the white craft, however, came several unrecognizable older men. They were dressed in formal attire and appeared to range anywhere from 40 to 60 years of age. They looked around curiously and cautiously as the founder approached them, and the two exchanged a few words before they retreated into the school. Lovino stepped back from the window, where his previous spot was taken by Matthew as he leaned out the window eagerly.

"What do you think that was all about?" Lovino turned to Matthew who looked equally curious, as well as excited.

"I don't know, but mom and dad are back! " The blond boy broke off into a sprint, running clean through doors and out of the dorm, still barefoot, without another word to Lovino as he left him alone in the room.

Lovino stared at the unopened door in surprise, then turned to look out the window. He watched as both Matthew and Alfred greet their parents and relatives. They had begun walking off when Mathias pulled Alfred back and led the bemused boy back to the academy craft, followed by Lukas. Alfred was evidently confused, constantly looking over his shoulder to his parents for an explanation, but they only looked to each other, unable to explain whatever it was they had to say. It was Lukas who turned to him and apparently cleared things up, as Alfred physically relaxed after he had opened his mouth to speak.

Lovino turned away with a huffed out sigh and sat on the bed, gathering the white bear in his arms and nuzzling its fur. Beside him lay their abandoned homework. He glanced over at it and found that most of Matthew's math homework was incomplete and those that he had answered were wrong, while his literature homework was overly detailed. He scoffed at the sight; The boy probably hadn't asked for help because he wanted to be a bother and tried to kill time with what he did know; he would have to scold him for it later.

The boy decided that it would be better to leave, Matthew's parents would be home and, no doubt, he'd want to spend time with them. Shoving his notebooks and binder into his bag, he decided he should at least leave his math homework for Matthew to be able to better understand his own work. Lovino left it on top of his desk with a note that read "Ask for help, bastard." and walked out of the room.

As he proceeded into the common area, he caught sight of Matthew and his family walking happily along and, without thinking, he slipped into the restroom and hid. Lovino listened and waited for the voices to grow quiet and undetectable before running out and towards his own home.

Unlike the dorms the others stayed in, the founders and their families shared a mansion-like home a short distance from the school, much shorter than that of the dorms to the school. It was incredibly old, older than the school, and had been remodeled and touched up so many times Feliciano had said he didn't think there was a single thing left from the original. It had been the place of learning in the school's early days, when the number of mutants could fit within the establishment without a problem. As the number of mutants grew, a separate establishment had to be built and the old school became their home. Over the years, rooms had been added on for all the closest descendants of the founders, whose blood had remained more or less untainted and who had remained on the island most of their lives, with the exception of Feliciano and Elizabeta. Presently, the house there were a total of 8 people; Other than the founders there was Lovino, Feliciano, Roderich, Elizabeta, Gilbert, and Ludwig.

Feliciano was brought onto the island at the age of 4, after Romulus caught wind of a rumor about panicked parents with a boy possessing inhuman speed in Italy, centuries after he had lost track of his remaining descendant. As for Elizabeta, she was considered a member of the family through her marriage to Roderich. The two had had a son who lived with them for the first five years as well, but all children between the ages of 5 and 12 were to be moved to the child restricted section for their safety, and the safety of those around them. So, while Lovino had never fully interacted with the boy, he had seen members of the family head there to visit, and had heard that he was rather eccentric.

Feliciano had also told him about a brother they had, as well, and he had even gone to see him a few times with Matthew. The boy was 5 years younger, and as joyous as Feliciano, although he seemed more... well, more something, he just couldn't put his finger on it. A bit more mischievous and adventurous, perhaps? Either way, Lovino very much enjoyed his company. The boy had looked up to him, and always seemed to value his attention. It was rather nice, to be admired, and he had, in turn, admired the boy. He probably had one of the most powerful abilities in the world, but not once did it get to his head, nor did he use it unfairly. He was actually rather humble, easily amazed at others' abilities or accomplishments.

Lovino slowed at the thought. It had been a while since he had seen him... With a little more thought to it, Lovino came to a full stop and looked back to the school dorms. It wouldn't be such a bad idea to visit him. Matthew was with his family, Feliciano had ditched him for the potato bastard the second the initial excitement of his existence wore off, and like hell would he admit to looking for Antonio. He made up his mind, turning on his heel and heading back to the dorms.

* * *

Lovino approached the entrance to the children's section cautiously. Guarding the doors were two blonds he was unacquainted with talking animatedly. Or rather, the girl was, while the man had an emotionless expression on his face that made it hard to tell if he was even listening. The woman paid no mind, chattering on, only stopping when she saw him approach. Lovino hesitated, wondering if he should turn back, and return when he recognized the guards, but decided against it. Usually it was Arthur and Lukas on the outer entrance, and Mathias and Berwald in the inner entrance, depending on the time of the week, corresponding to their class schedules. He had also, on occasion seen Gilbert and a younger boy keep watch, as well as Elizabeta and Roderich. Lovino jumped slightly as the woman finally spoke, clearly excited.

"Oh! Wow, your eyes really are golden! Look, Lars! Isn't that amazing? I always thought Antonio was just exaggerating, but they're so pretty!" The man turned to him, with a slight, detectable interest on his expression.

"What do you need?" Lovino stepped back at the harsh tone, but quickly regained himself. He scoffed at the question. Why else would he be here, if not to visit one of the kids?

"I'm here to visit my brother, ba-" he quickly shut his mouth at the man's glare, and the small scar that ran down his forehead. He wasn't _that_ stupid. The guards at the children's section were usually top notch heroes. People who could easily take down his ass if they felt the safety of the children was being threatened.

The woman continued to stare with wide eyes, as if watching some rare species of animal. It made Lovino blush like mad, caught under both of their inquiring eyes.

"Oh! I'm sorry, I forgot you were related to Feliciano for some reason. I mean, you do look just like him, but you're so different, it's almost hard to connect the two of you. You can go through. I'm Bella, by the way, and this is my brother Lars. Don't worry about his scary expression, he won't hurt you."

Lovino nodded slowly and walked past the two. He highly doubted the man wouldn't hurt him, if that scar was anything to go by. It was small, but he had it and that, in itself, was incredible. Most of the mutants, despite their countless heroic expeditions, never had a scratch on them, as the infirmary healers were very good at what they did, so the fact that he actually had a mark meant he had faced one hell of an enemy and made it through.

Just as Lovino made his way towards the inner entrance, he heard two unpleasantly familiar voices. Before him, another two figures stood speaking to one another; however, both heroes contributed to the conversation this time, evident by the olive-skinned brunette's many expressive gestures and the blond's interested expression and calm interjections.

Francis was the first to notice his arrival and turned his attention from his conversation with Antonio to him.

"Oh? What is this? How odd to see you without sweet Matthieu or Feli. Although, it is also quite strange seeing you _with_ them. You seem to be surrounded by such lovely people all the time." The man's eyes quickly glanced over to Antonio, who turned as soon as Francis had started speaking, before turning his gaze back to him.

Lovino stepped back at the sight of him, still able to feel the intense weakness the man had made him experience in their first encounter. He had gone to extreme lengths to avoid the man, sometimes even turning down Matthew's invitations to hang out, because of the close relationship the two had developed. The sight of him struck fear in his heart; He was the only person who could leave him utterly and completely defenseless. Even so, he scoffed and met his gaze dead on.

"Just let me see my brother, bastard." Antonio and Francis exchanged a look.

"Sorry, Lovi. We can't do that."

"Why the fuck not? These are visiting hours, aren't they?"

"W-well yeah, but-"

"What Antonio means to say is that the children are- preoccupied, I suppose. We can't let you through for now, but you are more than welcome to keep us company, if you'd like." He sent Lovino a wink, to which the boy physically drew back from, but did not step away. He stared suspiciously between the two.

Francis had his head slightly cocked to the side, a small smile playing on his lips, while Antonio looked on nervously. Lovino smiled back, relaxing his features to appear nonchalant.

"Fine. I guess I'll just ask Bella and Lars when the kids _aren't_ busy so that I can visit. Maybe I'll even ask what they're doing to cause the two of you to _not_ let me through, even though _they_ did." Francis tensed and Antonio looked to him in a panic. Lovino only smirked, and turned with a wave of his hand.

"Wait! You can't do that-"

"Of course I can, bastard. Watch me." Lovino took another step towards the outer door.

"We'll let you through!" Lovino turned, brow raised. The two men began bickering in hushed tones, but eventually Francis sighed and opened the door to let a tauntingly smiling Lovino pass.

As soon as the doors closed he could hear the men arguing again, but he didn't pay it any mind. He crossed through the empty common room and out into the main playground area without seeing a single person. He checked his watch, noticing that it was too early for their bedtime, not that he expected it to be that late just yet; they had let him in, after all. He glanced around curiously, even peaking into the stairs leading up to the sleeping area, but not a single child was in sight. He turned the corner to access the large tree behind the building and found that all the kids were- fighting. Panic rose as he saw his brother and Peter among the scuffles, and he quickly ran over to break it up, picking Marcello up off of Peter and into the air. Both boys paused looking at him with wide, fearful eyes.

"What the fuck are you doing?!" At the sound of his voice, all the children stopped. "What the fuck is going on?!" Lovino set his brother down and looked him over for injury, before doing the same to Peter. After he had confirmed that both were clear of any marks, he stood straight again and looked around. Some of the children had looked to the ground while others looked to each other.

"Lovino? What the hell are you doing here? I told Toni and Franny not to let anyone thr-" Gilbert came jogging up to him from an unknown location.

"What the hell am _I_ doing here? What the _fuck_ are you doing?! They're kids, you bastard! Why do you have them fighting each other?"

"Lovino, calm-" Gilbert put his arms on his shoulders to placate the fuming boy, but it only seemed to infuriate him more. Lovino shoved his arms off and pushed Gilbert back.

"No, I won't calm down! They could get hurt, you shithead!"

"They could get hurt if they don't learn to fight!" His voice had dropped to a harsh whisper as he turned back to assess the reactions of the kids. They looked confused, some even frightened, but it didn't appear as if they caught his last statement. Lovino paused, sizing him up.

"What are you talki-" Gilbert grabbed his arm and dragged him into the building, instructing the others to continue fighting with a wave of his hand.

Lovino fidgeted and tugged, but couldn't escape Gilbert's grip. He even tried burning his hand, but Gilbert didn't so much as flinch. It wasn't until they were inside the building that he released Lovino.

"What-"

"Did you see the aircraft? All the men?"

"Yeah? What of i-" He faltered at the man's serious tone. Gilbert was hardly ever serious, from what he'd seen, and he hadn't even addressed himself as 'awesome' throughout the course of their conversation.

"Alaric let them onto the island for diplomatic purposes, but I don't trust them. They've never wanted to come onto the island before, and there methods of forcing their way in don't sit well with me, either. I couldn't do anything to stop the decision from being made, but I'll be damned if I leave the kids exposed to any possible threat."

Lovino processed the information, nodding slowly. He could feel Gilbert's stare on him, as if waiting for him to say anything that would go against his goal, but he never did. It took him a month to fully trust the people on the island, still not completely trusting Romulus, so like hell was he going to trust some newcomers. He had finally found a place for himself, and he was going to protect it.

Lovino looked him in the eyes and spoke. "I want to help." Gilbert was taken aback, but grinned at the tone that left no room for arguments.

'"You're going to need to take some fucking fantastic notes in your classes; I want you teaching them everything you learn. I can't help some of them, but you have a wider range of abilities than my awesome self does. Be at home Monday, Thursdays, and Saturdays after classes and we'll come together. You'll be under my awesome training, too. You need to become a stronger fighter."

"What about Mattie?" Gilbert paused, thinking it over. He didn't want the boy asking questions or coming to find that his parents were directly involved in his decision to train the kids. He would do more harm than good if he got emotional about it.

"Don't tell him _anything_."

"What the fuck are you talking about!? If this place really is in danger, what the fuck is he going to do? He doesn't _want_ to fight. He can't just bitch around a serious fight, and you won't be there to stop it every time." The man winced, but understood the truth behind the statement. Matthew had refused to fight back for the past few matches. He would evade hits until he had tired himself out, or had been caught off guard. As much as he cared for the boy, it was beginning to get frustrating.

"Push him."

"What?" Lovino let out a short laugh. Push _Matthew_? The kid was the epitome of patience; his friendship with Lovino was proof of that. Nobody around him, with the exception of Antonio, who was probably either too dumb, or carefree to mind his insults, and Matthew could spend more than half an hour with him. Even his brother preferred to run off with the potato bastard than spend time with him. Lovino had cursed at him, teased him, and on one occasion sat on him to try to get him to assert himself, but the boy paid no mind, only laughed it off. He knew the boy was incapable of actually harming him, and that his insults and curses were hollow of any real malice.

"Just do whatever it takes to push him over the edge, even getting him to swing at you is fine. You're his closest friend, aren't you?"

"W-well, I-" A light blush bloomed on Lovino's cheeks at the comments. He supposed he was. Even if Matthew went with his family, that bastard Francis, or even Gilbert, it was always him he went back to at the end of the day, and him who he told everything to. He was also the person he spent the most time with, wanting him by his side no matter what he was doing. The thought made Lovino's insides flutter. He may not have been much of a person, or someone many people could get along with, but he was still someone's most important person. Gilbert saw the blush, and the small smile that spread on Lovino's lips, and smiled himself.

"You are. He'd ditch my awesomeness for you in a heartbeat. If he can bring himself to fight you, he can fight anyone." His smile dropped. He'd never seen Matthew angry, and he sure as hell didn't want to. If none of his attempts had gotten anywhere, it would have to be something big that would push him over the edge, and he wasn't sure Matthew would still want to be around him after something like that.

"A-and if he hates me afterwards?"

"He won't. C'mon, let me give you an introduction to all the kids, their names, powers, and how well they're doing." He slapped Lovino on the back and walked back out into the playground, but not before sending Lovino a grin and a wink over his shoulder.

* * *

 **Ugh, such a long chapter. I guess it's fine. It's not like I have anything I should be doing... Yeah.. anyway :D Gilbert and Lovino have teamed up, Matthew is out of the loop because it directly concerned his parents, and Lovino has to royally piss off Matthew, none of these things will be in the next chapter... I think.. Does 15 chapters sound like a long way to go? because I think I figured that there were roughly that many left? I dunno, I'm no good at math or planning, so we'll just wait and see. Btw, I know none of the powers were revealed here, but that's mainly because I was way over my usual word count, but I'll still add them into the superpower section, along with their age and country names, since a lot of the kids are actually micro nations without canon names. I kinda wanna do a side story based on the Nordics and their time at the academy, including how they each joined, their developing relationships, Alfred's discovery, and a little bit on the Bad Touch Trio and the whole thing with Ludwig and Gilbert, but I'm lazy and doing that now would distract me from this, so I'll just keep it in my head XD. I finally picked out a name for Luxembourg! It was awful I had three tabs open, one for the name, one for the personality, and one for superpowers e.e. It took me about an hour to sort it out. Anyway! I'm done here.**

 **Nikel Anderson (Luxembourg) Age 10: Amalgamation ( the ability to fuse things with one's self or each other)**

 **Leopold Edelstein (Kugelmugel) Age 8: hard light constructs, superhuman agility and reflexes**

 **Marcello Vargas (Seborga) Age 12: atomic manipulation**

 **Wendy Kirkland (Wy) Age 11:telepathy, telekinesis, psionic blasts**

 **Lili Zwingli Age 12: animal communication, superhuman endurance, agility, and reflexes**

 **Peter Kirkland Age 12: Shapeshifting, superhuman endurance, reflexes, and agility**

 **Elizabeta Héderváry Age 29: nature manipulation**

 **Matthew Williams Age 17: Invisibility, teleportation, intangibility**

 **Mathias Køhler Age 32: forcefield generation, energy blasts, superhuman strength and endurance**

 **Berwald Oxenstierna Age 32: Adamantine body armor, absorption, superhuman strength, endurance, and reflexes**

 **Lukas Bondevik Age 32: Astral projection, summoning, telepathy, energy blasts**

 **Tino Vainamoinen Age 30: duplication, echolocation, superhuman reflexes and agility, healing factor**

 **Alfred F. Jones Age 17: Superhuman strength, agility, endurance, stamina**

 **Feliciano Vargas Age 18: Superspeed, healing factor, superhuman stamina**

 **Francis Bonnefoy Age 27: illusion, possession, power neutralization**

 **Alaric Beilschmidt (Germania): superhuman strength, flight, telepathy, reduced aging**

 **Romulus Vargas (Ancient Rome): Superhuman strength and endurance, flight, reduced aging**

 **Lovino Vargas Age 18: Fire and heat manipulation, infrared vision**

 **Antonio Fernandez Carriedo Age 26: animal communication, animal morphing, enhanced senses**

 **Leon Wang (Hong Kong) Age 18: portal creation, superhuman speed, agility, and strength**

 **Ludwig** **Beilschmidt Age 17: elemental transmutation, superhuman endurance and strength**

 **Gilbert Beilschmidt Age 27: disintegration, superhuman endurance, agility, and stamina**

 **Thank you so much for reading! I'd love to know what you think~!**


	10. Chapter 10

Alaric escorted the six men through the vast corridors of the school, pointing out and explaining things he considered important to their understanding of the lifestyles of his kind. The men seemed to absorb everything with a kind of obsessive interest. They asked many questions, sometimes general questions, such as the way the island operated, sometimes very specific questions, such as the information of students they passed. The two who appeared most interested were the oldest and youngest of the group. A man of forty and one of sixty. They occasional stopped students and asked them to display their abilities, much to Alaric's displeasure.

"I can't help but notice that a vast majority of your alumni are male, Mr. Beilschmidt. Is there a reason for this?" The youngest asked after a chatty boy with long blond hair had been pulled away worriedly by a nervous looking boy with equally long brown hair.

They had just left the courtyard where many of the students were lounging during their lunch hour. The school, in fact, was comprised mainly of male students, although there were a fair share of girls. Some of the most prominent and efficient heroes were actually female, but, due to their limited numbers, were often overshadowed by the male hero population. Elizabeta, Bella, and Katyusha, to name a few, were talented beyond their years, but were the only female heroes for the time being, and Katyusha was not even an active hero. She preferred to remain on the school grounds and work as a medic alongside Yao. Alaric, however, was very confident in the abilities of the female students that had yet to graduate. Natalia showed a deadly cunning, that was sure to be efficient in any battle; if anyone was left standing after her show of ability, that is. Michelle's powers were inescapable, and her resourcefulness when it came to them would possibly save her life one day, Wendy was talented beyond her years and was able to remain calm and logical in the few situations where the other children weren't. Mei, despite her happy persona, was more than capable of becoming serious in a fight, and wasn't one to back down easily. He had never really witnessed Lien's ability, but she gave off the same serious, if not deadly, aura that Berwald often gave off, and had excelled in every single one of her classes. They were the only girls in the entire institution, but they were also some of the most gifted.

"It would appear that the gene that causes the mutations works much in the same way with colorblindness. It's a recessive trait, but it is located on the X chromosome, and as males only have one, they have no dominant trait to counter it." Students looked on interested, while others appeared suspicious. In any way, all eyes were on Alaric and the men that accompanied him through the course of the school, dorms, and rest of the island.

"I see. You seem to have studied the cause of this quite thoroughly. Why the interest in it? Does it matter what causes it if you're going to accept your kind into the school either way?"

"I have been around for many years, you can imagine I had the time to look into it. It was simply for understanding. As humans, we do have the tendency to want to discover ourselves, do we not?"

"I suppose so, Mr. Beilschmidt. Another question: If it does work as colorblindness does, that means that the offspring of any two mutants will inevitably be a mutant themself, does it not?" Alaric sighed. The questions they were asking was beginning to worry him. They seemed to be attempting to pick apart the cause of the mutations as much as possible; trying to learn how and what made them tick.

"Yes, we do have a few children in our care whose parents are heroes. Elizabeta and Roderich, for example, have a son who shares their genetic enhancements. The Kirklands were also a prominent hero family, whose offspring all had the mutation."

"Is that so? May we see some of these childr-"Alaric was quick to shut down their request.

"Absolutely not. It's a miracle Romulus did not shoot your helicopter down. If he were to know you were allowed anywhere near the children, I would not be able to guarantee your safety." The children had, not only the most unstable abilities, but also the most easily influenced minds. He didn't know how they would react to the exposure to the men or any questions or statements made by them. Romulus knew that as well and made it his most important rule when he had learned that the heroes had given the outsiders permission to enter the school.

"Quite hostile, isn't he?" The youngest of the group asked with a confident smile.

"I expect no less, considering the way you dealt with our own." The others laughed off his response and probed at another topic.

"Do you ever, for the lack of a better word, _breed_ these heroes?"

"Of course not. The _people_ here are free to choose whatever partner they wish, whether they be mutant or otherwise. They are not animals."

"You're getting very worked up over a simple question, Alaric. I am simply attempting to understand the way you run this place. You can't blame me for thinking such things, you do keep them trapped here like animals. It is strange, though. If mutations such as yours are as common as colorblindness I would expect you to have more inhabitants on this island of yours."

"Clearly, you are misinformed. Our students are allowed to leave during their breaks and live amongst you if they please, or remain permanently after they have gained control of their abilities. The four eldest Kirkland brothers are a prime example. They did not wish to remain heroes, so they didn't. This school, this island, was built for the sole purpose of helping people like us, not caging them. We do not have as many inhabitants as you might assume because we do not force our own here. They can come as they please, not to mention that there is the fact that many of them have not awakened their abilities and we don't want them to feel as if they fall short because of this.

"Furthermore, some of their abilities are so menial they could easily live among humans. Clairvoyance is a common gift, and many humans continue to live on in your world that have it, although they have proven to inaccurately foretell the future because of the various possible paths a future can have, leading many to think that their gifts are a hoax. It is the more troubled or potentially harmful ones that we search for and invite to our establishment. Francis Bonnefoy, for example, projected such strong illusions to those around him that he drove his parents to the brink of insanity. Lukas Bondevik had mistakenly summoned dark entities and lost control of them, leading to devastation in his home town. Elizabeta Héderváry destroyed her school and created something resembling a jungle in and around it when her powers awakened. A majority of the children we have here are those who were scared, alone, and needed our guidance. " Alaric stopped in front of the academy and turned to the men.

"I have shown you everything I could and I have told you everything there is to know. You have free ground to explore as you please with the exception of the children's sector. Be warned that if any of our heroes spot you wandering too close they will take it upon themselves to attack and I will not stop them." He turned and began walking away.

"Is that a threat, Alaric?" The man stopped and turned back to them, a dangerous gleam in his eye.

"No, it wasn't, but if _I_ catch you anywhere near the child's sector I will take it upon myself to tear you apart. _That_ is a threat, gentlemen." They physically tensed under his gaze, but the Germanic man paid it no mind. It simply meant that they understood the true danger of attempting anything with the younger generation of mutants. He continued on his way, until he heard a soft voice call out to him. He spun on his heel and looked down to find Matthew looking up at him nervously. He raised a brow and was about to ask what he needed, but the boy spoke first.

"I-I'm sorry to- to bother you Mr. Beilschmidt, b-but-well-you see... Are Lovino and I allowed to compete in the tournament?" He finally choked out. His face was red from exertion, no doubt having run around the school grounds looking for him.

"Wh- yes, of course. Once you've completed academy requirements, which you're in the process of doing, you have as much of a right to compete as any other student. Did that ever appear to be an issue, Matthew?" Relief washed over his features, and he let out a sigh, hunching over. Ever since Gilbert had mentioned it, he had been worrying whether he was allowed to compete. No one, not even the founders had informed him, or reminded him of it until Alfred had returned. Lukas and Mathias had apparently been teaching him to fly the academy craft so that he could get started on missions with a team as soon as possible.

When Matthew had informed him that nobody had told him of the tournament he grew concerned and instructed Matthew to ask Alaric or Romulus. After several minutes of searching and asking if anyone had seen him, leading him the wrong way on multiple occasions, he had finally found the man.

"N-no, it's just, well y-you didn't mention it, s-so I thought I wasn't allowed-"

"Well, then I'm sorry to have worried you." Alaric rested a hand on his shoulder and gave him a small smile. "You are like us, the same rules apply to you, as well as the same privileges. Despite your origins, and despite the bumpy beginnings, you will always be accepted as one of our kind. That has been bothering you, hasn't it?" Matthew was caught off guard, but slowly nodded. He'd felt like an outsider or a circus act for the past few months; it was a relief to be told so openly that he was accepted, and Alaric clearly sensed his relief, as he gave him one last smile, before walking away.

Matthew muttered a small "Thank you" before he turned and walked away as well. He had been at the school so long, three months to be exact, and had never really had a conversation with the man that didn't involve the lectures he had been given when he first arrived. It was almost exhilarating, talking to someone so powerful, who had been around for thousands of years, and would probably be around thousands more after he had died. It was truly incredible, after all, he was the origin of so many of the modern heroes, along with Romulus and Yao. He had heard of a few other heroes as old as them, but they weren't as successful, and died out thousands of years ago.

Matthew was making his way to the founder's mansion in search of Lovino to inform him of the tournament, when he heard people speaking in hushed tones. He was about to continue walking, when he heard someone call out to him. A middle aged man had his hand up signalling for him to come closer to himself and five other men. Matthew looked around in wonder and checked to see if there was anyone else he could be talking to, but found no one, and slowly approached the men.

"I am sorry to bother you, but those are the strangest colored eyes I've seen on this island. Not only that, but they appear to have an almost supernatural quality. What is your name, young man?"

"M-matthew," he glanced around, in hopes of finding someone he knew, but he had no such luck.

"Ah, I see. What is it that makes your eyes appear to shine like that, Matthew?"

"W-well I'm not sure-"

"Is that so? Such a shame. You have a brother don't you? I believe I saw him when we first arrived. Are your biological parents also mutants?"

"Yes, I do, but we don't have the same biological p-parents. W-we both live with Tino and Berw-"

"What do you mean? You two are practically identical, and how could he be your brother, if you are not related?"

"W-well, I- I wasn't... I'm not... I've- I wasn't born, s-so much as I w-was made. Mo- Tino and Berwald found me and took me in, and Alfred and I claim to be siblings, but we're... well we're actually more like... the same person?" The men raised a brow at his explanation and looked quietly to each other as they processed the information given.

"So you're a clone? I was not made aware that they were experimenting with students in this institution. Does that mean you share your brother's abilities?" The man who had beckoned him said.

"No! T-they don't. Lovi and I weren't made here. W-we were made somewhere else. I-I'm sorry, even I don't know how we- _this_ happened, but I- I don't share Alfred's powers." Matthew continued to look around, desperately attempting to find a means to escape from their prying interrogation. He felt like a cornered animal, unsure of how to answer, but unable to remain quiet out of respect.

"Lovi? There is another like yourself?"

"Y-yes, Lovino Vargaas, he's my friend. We were found together. L-look, I really need to g-"

"Of course, but would it trouble you greatly to show us what you are capable of, first?" Matthew began fidgeting, but nodded, nonetheless, and vanished. The men let out a chorus of "Oh's" and "Ah's" as well as several praises, before thanking Matthew and allowing him to scamper away.

Matthew had been in such a desperate state, he had run off in the wrong direction to ensure being as far from the men as possible, that it took him much longer to finally make it back to the founder's house without seeing or being seen by the men. When he inspected the inside of the home, however, he found that both Lovino and Gilbert were out. He huffed out a sigh, and was about to leave, when Feliciano popped up in front of him.

"Hello, Mattie! Wow, I haven't seen you in such a long time. Are you here for Lovi? I don't think he came home yet today. I've been here the whole day and I didn't hear him. Would you like to hang out with me? I'm a little bored; Grandpa told me not to leave the house, Gil's been gone the whole day, Ludwig's doing some homework with Kiku, and told me I was making too much noise, and Lovi isn't back." Feliciano was rocking back and forth on his heels, hands clasped behind his back as he spoke a mile a minute. He wore a small smile on his face as his brows creased in worry.

It was unusual seeing such an expression on a face so identical to that of his friend. The only expressions Lovino expressed often were rage, malicious joy, nonchalance, or the soft look only Matthew could invoke. Any flashes of insecurity were usually replaced in an instant by any of the first three. It worried him at times, but he never further pursued the topic, lest he upset the boy. Lovino always came off as more sensitive than most people, quicker to anger, worry, or overthink things and fear consequences. It was one of the things that drew him closer to the boy; he just happened to be passionate than most, and it made his emotions more pure, more concentrated. In its own way, it showed a kind of naivety, and when it came down to it, Lovino was naive. They had only be "alive," or rather, conscious, a few months, but in that time, Lovino was the one that was punished, the one that fought back, the one that was aware of the abuse more than anything. He knew that wasn't how a person was supposed to live, and he refused to believe he wasn't a person. Not when he looked like them, talked like them, _angered_ like them.

His chest grew heavy at the thought and his eyes began to water. Matthew felt his knees lock, unable to support him. He was drowning in the resonating echo of his memories, and he began to lose sight of the light that led him back towards reality as his thoughts suddenly became darker and spiraled out of control. Was it even real? It felt so distant, so dream-like. What he was remembering then felt more real than any of the past few months had.

* * *

Lovino's screamed as they tested him out, or punished him, he couldn't be sure which. The screams always sounded the same and they both felt the same, anyway. They echoed through the building and remained long after the boy was unconscious. He remembered his own. Whatever powers they had would be forced out of them after hours of prolonged torture to draw them out with their need to protect themselves. Without proper control, it was only their fight or flight instinct that would trigger them. Lovino's power was offensive, his own was defensive. Lovino tried to kill, he tried to escape, but it never seemed to work. They had never even gotten close to seeing the light of day, they weren't even sure it could be brighter, but they had faith that the world could not be so dark.

Where they were now, they weren't more than rats, but not to each other. They valued one another to the point where Lovino would distract the men from any of Matthew's shortcomings by attacking, back talking, insults, or simply shielding the cowering boy. Afterwards, Matthew would hold him close and comfort him; even if they didn't understand one another, they at least knew what they each went through, and knew that they cared for one another. If no one else, at least they did. It was their saving grace, their reason to stay and live each day, and endure anything.

Just before they had been found by the Nordics, Matthew and Lovino were deemed "immature" due to Matthew's disarming coyness, Lovino's recklessness, and their too human physical condition that would be a major weakness if they were ever faced with any real danger. They were put back in the gel until their bodies, minds, and abilities would develop further.

Matthew had screamed as Lovino was taken from him and collapsed. The boy became pale and limp and Matthew feared the worst before everything went black. The next thing he knew, he was waking up, in a much different cage this time. The lights were brighter, but he was further from Lovino than he'd ever been while in the same room. He couldn't use his powers, and he feared their fate, but then Alfred came, and Feliciano came, and then the others, and suddenly he was surrounded by people who smiled and cared, and Lovino; He wasn't going to be taken away again.

* * *

Matthew felt a warm, wet line run down his cheek and quickly wiped it away snapping back to reality. Staring back at him was Feliciano, concerned and a little frightened. He had been rubbing circles on his back as he remembered all of it in an attempt to soothe the boy. The blond boy blushed at his behavior and pulled away slightly. He sniffed and let out a small, embarrassed chuckle.

"I'm so sorry- I just- it's just- I rem- Do you ever remember o-or feel like you're reliving s-something? Something awful that seems so far? As if it were a dream, but still has a greater impact on your life than it should or than you want it to?" Feliciano blinked at his question, but then gave him a small thoughtful smile, that was too bitter on his usually happy face.

"Sometimes, I'm not sure if it's what you mean, but I feel like someone's going to take Ludwig away from me. I remember what it was like when they took him the first time. I was moved first, so that I could get used to being away, and then so they wouldn't see me cry. It was fine when we were just living apart, I could still see him at school, but then, I couldn't see him there, either. It was like he vanished, without a trace, so I asked my grandpa, but he didn't answer. I think he expected me to stop, but I didn't.

"He was my only friend and I wasn't going to give him up, so eventually he gave up and let me see him. He was where you were, but he was unconscious most of the time. For three years, I think, and then he came back, and I was happy, and I hugged him, but... he didn't know who I was, he didn't really care who I was, he pushed me away. It ... It took so long for him to come back, not just the time he was away, but even after he came back, he was still away. I think... a little bit of him is still away. I get scared that someone will take him away again, and I get scared when I'm not with him, so I cling to him." He looked up at Matthew, without shedding a single tear, despite his quivering lip and his thickening voice. All Matthew could think then, in looking at him, was that the boy shared the same incredible bravery as Lovino, even if not in the same form. While Lovino would, and could, stare down any opponent, Feliciano could, and did, stare back without hesitation at one of the loneliest and scariest times in his past without shedding a tear; something neither Matthew, nor Lovino could bring themselves to do.

"He thinks it's annoying, but I'd rather he thought I was annoying, than have him leave again." Matthew was left shocked. In truth, he had seen Feliciano float around Ludwig most of the time, practically glued to him, but he never would have guessed why. Feliciano, in those moments, showed no fear or worry or any clue as to his troubled mind. He was always happy, smiling, goofing around, despite Ludwig's evident exasperation. Lovino had even complained often about his brother's infatuation with the 'potato bastard' with a hint of disgust and jealousy. It made him see Feliciano, and all the others in a new light. It seemed as though he wasn't the only one with a troubled past on the island, although thinking that was rather selfish on his part. Who knew what secrets lay behind the smiling faces of his classmates. He found himself awed by how incredible, not just the founders were, but how incredible everyone was.

Feliciano noticed him staring and sent him one of the brightest smiles he'd seen on the boy. "So do you want to hang out?"

"S-sure." Matthew responded with a small smile of his own and followed Feliciano as he led the way through the large house.

* * *

 **WOAH! I updated! Amazing! Just kidding~ it hasn't been that long, right? Anyway! I just finished my first week in college! It was way better than I thought it would be... except my school is at the top of a hill and the parking only goes so high... long story short, my butt is sore. You probably didn't need to know that... Nah, we're all friends here. So, like, I thought I was done with obsessing over new fandoms, but then I ended up finishing the Captive Prince trilogy in four days and it's amazing, like, seriously, one of the best books ever, you should totally read it, but, like... check the warnings first, it's a little... yeah... either way XD I think it's amazing and something you should totally check out. Sorry XD, I just REALLY liked it. Anyway, now that I'm in college I hope I'll still be able to update pretty regularly, but if not I hope you guys will be able to understand :0! I really value you guys reading and reviewing and stuff, and it makes me real happy, so I don't want to lose any of you :0. Also! I feel like maybe answering reviews through messages might be a little too personal? So I'll just respond at the end of each new updated chapter so I don't bother anyone :D. If you DO want to talk or DON'T mind me messaging you, just tell me or send me a message :D. Anyway, I've wasted enough of your time with this XD. There were no new powers revealed in this chapter, but maybe the next?**

 **Superpowers:**

 **Nikel Anderson (Luxembourg) Age 10: Amalgamation ( the ability to fuse things with one's self or each other)**

 **Leopold Edelstein (Kugelmugel) Age 8: hard light constructs, superhuman agility and reflexes**

 **Marcello Vargas (Seborga) Age 12: atomic manipulation**

 **Wendy Kirkland (Wy) Age 11:telepathy, telekinesis, psionic blasts**

 **Lili Zwingli Age 12: animal communication, superhuman endurance, agility, and reflexes**

 **Peter Kirkland Age 12: Shapeshifting, superhuman endurance, reflexes, and agility**

 **Elizabeta Héderváry Age 29: nature manipulation**

 **Matthew Williams Age 17: Invisibility, teleportation, intangibility**

 **Mathias Køhler Age 32: forcefield generation, energy blasts, superhuman strength and endurance**

 **Berwald Oxenstierna Age 32: Adamantine body armor, absorption, superhuman strength, endurance, and reflexes**

 **Lukas Bondevik Age 32: Astral projection, summoning, telepathy, energy blasts**

 **Tino Vainamoinen Age 30: duplication, echolocation, superhuman reflexes and agility, healing factor**

 **Alfred F. Jones Age 17: Superhuman strength, agility, endurance, stamina**

 **Feliciano Vargas Age 18: Superspeed, healing factor, superhuman stamina**

 **Francis Bonnefoy Age 27: illusion, possession, power neutralization**

 **Alaric Beilschmidt (Germania): superhuman strength, flight, telepathy, reduced aging**

 **Romulus Vargas (Ancient Rome): Superhuman strength and endurance, flight, reduced aging**

 **Lovino Vargas Age 18: Fire and heat manipulation, infrared vision**

 **Antonio Fernandez Carriedo Age 26: animal communication, animal morphing, enhanced senses**

 **Leon Wang (Hong Kong) Age 18: portal creation, superhuman speed, agility, and strength**

 **Ludwig** **Beilschmidt Age 17: elemental transmutation, superhuman endurance and strength**

 **Gilbert Beilschmidt Age 27: disintegration, superhuman endurance, agility, and stamina**

 **Thanks so much for reading and reviewing! (and favoriting and following... and even considering.)**


	11. Chapter 11

"What the fuck is up with all the Kirklands? Those were the third and fourth ones I've seen on this island, and I think only two of them were actual siblings."

It wasn't until visiting hours were over that Lovino and Gilbert had left the children's sector. They had made some progress, if Lovino did say so himself. He'd even found himself having fun. At one point Marcello even tried feeding him a tomato he had put together, only to have it smacked out of his hands by a horrified Peter. After that, Gilbert had explained that the boy hadn't gotten a firm grasp on his abilities, so anything he had made, regarding food, shouldn't be consumed. Peter had interjected his own comment, which sounded a lot like "Like Arthur's food", to which he and Gilbert had both laughed, leaving the two Vargas's completely confused.

"There used to be more, but Arthur's brothers got sick of it here, or specifically, of Romulus, and left." Lovino hummed, smiling bitterly.

"I don't fucking blame them." Gilbert's steps faltered as he turned to his companion.

"What? Romulus ain't treating you right?" The boy tensed, but quickly composed himself and began walking faster, refusing to meet Gilbert's eyes.

"Fuck off, that's my business. Besides, I was talking about the whole locked up thing with Mattie and me. Anyway, how'd it go down?" The man sighed, but dropped the topic. It came off as strange that the confrontational boy was averting both his gaze and the topic, but also that Romulus had refused him. He treasured Feliciano and Marcello, and even had a soft spot for Antonio and Francis, so it was evident that he strongly valued his family. Maybe it was just that that made him reject the boy. Even Elizabeta had thought him a danger, so there was no doubt that Romulus suspected he was. If that were true, then it was no wonder he spent so much time with Matthew; It was someone like him, and someone who cared for him, but one person on the whole island must have been awfully lonely. He watched him a while longer before answering.

"There's a lot of shit you're not supposed to do when you're out in the world, and one of them is stray from your mission. Even if another person is in danger, even if there's another threat, you do what you were initially there to do, and once you've finished, you leave. Allistor, the oldest Kirkland brother, had been scolded by Romulus for straying too many times, whether it be to stop a car in a chase, keep a kid from getting hit by a car, sometimes even stupid shit like helping someone find something. He would spend too much time there, cause unnecessary damage, and make too much contact with the humans." Gilbert turned to Lovino with a wry smile that showed nothing but contempt. "See, they don't like it very much when we interact with them, or their kids. Some of them are scared of us and seeing us fight scares them more. The only time we could interact was when we were on temporary leave and could just blend in, but only the older generations could do that now. Back then it was different; you could go on practice assignments with a hero before you were one yourself, graduate earlier, even visit countries and communicate with others during the summer. I kinda fucked it up. Made them more scared." Lovino slowed and turned back to see Gilbert kick a nearby rock. His smile had changed, but it wasn't his usual cocky smile. It was as if he were lost in his thoughts; a very dazed expression showed on his features before he snapped back into reality.

"Anyway, there was a fire nearby, Allistor sent his team out to fix it, and handled the problem on his own, but without backup it took longer, and there was more damage since they couldn't contain the threat. Romulus found out and they threw down.

"Allistor ended up with more than a few bruises. When it was done, he said he was sick of his shit and renounced his title. That was it. He left with Seamus, Patrick and Dylan. I think he was just pissed that Romulus said he would put Arthur in charge of his team. Allistor already hated being told what to do by Romulus, but being told what to do by his younger brother was the last straw." The two were simply strolling throught the dark street, Gilbert looking to the sky, while Lovino looked to the ground.

"Shit. How'd Arthur and Peter take it?"

"That's why I think they were pissed about Arthur being the new team leader. They took it out on him before they left. Alfred and Francis were staying with Arthur when it happened; Allistor and the other three came home and they started yelling shit at Arthur, Arthur yelled back, and soon enough they were getting ready to throw punches. The other three didn't do anything to stop it because they were pretty bitter themselves. Francis and Alfred had to get involved so it wouldn't get serious. Naturally, Allistor wouldn't hurt either of them, so he just left. I think Arthur's glad to be rid of them. They never got along to well; they all had too much pride. As for Peter, Tino and Berwald were watching him. He doesn't know why they really left, and I think he still writes to them and sends his letters with Tino and Berwald. Francis was the one who took it the hardest. He was pretty attached to Allistor..."

"What about their parents? Didn't they say shit?"

"A lot of the students don't have parents here, Lovi. Some of them were turned out by their parents out of fear, a lot had parents who were heroes that died in action, and a few accidentally killed their parents. You should consider yourself lucky, sometimes. Allistor was the one that looked out for them." Lovino didn't respond to that.

He wondered what would have happened if he had been Feliciano's actual brother. They wouldn't have had more to worry about with him, or maybe he wouldn't have even had powers and he never would have met Matthew. Would he still have been happy then? Would he have made his own friends and lived his own life as a human? It didn't matter, he decided. There was no point in trying to imagine something that wasn't ever possible. Besides, he didn't like the gloomy mood the conversation was taking.

"What do you think of Mattie?" His question clearly caught Gilbert off guard, as he stumbled a bit before looking to Lovino suspiciously.

"Why?" He finally asked, not taking his eyes off of Lovino. The boy merely shrugged, carrying on carelessly.

"He's cute, isn't he? Sweet, caring, kinda pretty. He talks about you, sometimes." More like all the time, he thought with a devious smile. Every new encounter he would retell to Lovino with an astounding amount of joy and excitement that made his odd colored eyes glow. It was sweet, watching him gush about the man beside him, but he had to know if he should steer Matthew in another direction. Gilbert's reaction reassured him. The man quickly became quiet, then defensive.

"W-well yea-, but he's just a kid- What are you getting at?" Lovino laughed at the response. Something that only made Gilbert more suspicious.

"Nothing. Maybe I like him and simply wanted to know if a bastard like you was competition, but seems like _your awesomeness_ won't be a problem," he said innocently. Gilbert tensed, but was then overcome by an offended and mildly worried expression. Before he could answer, however, they saw two men walking towards them.

They were talking to each other, and showed no sign of seeing Gilbert or Lovino. While Lovino would have liked to keep it that way, Gilbert clearly wanted to confront the men.

"A little late for you to be out isn't it? There's nothing for you to see at night." His demeanor changed and he straightened to his full height and looked almost intimidating.

"Oh, you must be Alaric's boy. You look quite like him, but as for your previous comment, I'd say otherwise. This is the famous Lovino, isn't it? We've heard quite a bit about you and Matthew. Sweet boy, he demonstrated his abilities for us, would you show us yours as well? We are rather curious." Lovino hesitated under their interested eyes and was about to speak when Gilbert stepped in front of him.

"Don't talk to him. He doesn't have to show you shit, and I'd _advise_ you to return to your rooms before Romulus finds out you're creeping around at night." With that he dragged Lovino away.

Once they were a safe distance away, just a few feet from the entrance of the founder's house, Lovino pulled himself out of Gilbert's grip. "I don't fucking appreciate being dragged around like a doll, bastard, and you've been doing that a fuck ton today. Unless you want your fucking hand burned off, you better not fucking do it again, and wasn't that an exaggerated reaction?"

Gilbert seemed completely unfazed by his threat, the serious look in his eyes still there. "Look, we don't know jack shit about what they want or if they're even threat. The less they know about you the be-"

"Gil? Lovi? Where have you been, I was looking for you." Matthew walked out of the founder's home, smiling. "I talked to Alaric, he said we could compete in the tournament. I was wondering if you wanted to train with me."

Matthew was right in front of the two now, looking up at them with eager eyes. Gilbert's eyes softened as he looked down at him and any of the previous tension from their previous encounter melted away, while Lovino's own eyes and demeanor hardened. He scoffed.

"Why would I want to train with you if you don't even fight back? It would be pointless, I'd have better luck training with the brats in the children's sector, and I don't _have_ to spend every hour of every day with you or tell you what I was doing, either. Sometimes I get sick of being around you, alright?" Lovino shoved past the boy and rushed into the house. Gilbert stared after him, clearly confused. He looked between him and Matthew before realizing what the boy was doing and left Matthew behind, without another word as he headed in after Lovino.

Once in the house, he peeked outside to see Matthew still standing outside, looking confused, and about ready to cry.

"That was a little harsh, wasn't it?"

Gilbert quickly regret having said anything when he saw Lovino was standing against the wall inside the house, looking as if he were in the same condition as Matthew. His lower lip was trembling and he was blinking rapidly to clear away the tears.

"You don't have to go through with this if it bothers you so much, Lovi. I know how much he means to yo-"

"D-don't be stupid, bastard. He w-won't learn otherwise, and I'm not going to save his ass if there's trouble." He took in a deep breath to recollect himself and walked past Gilbert to his own room. "It's for his own good."

* * *

Lovino kept up his cold attitude for roughly a month. In that time, he had avoided the boy in the halls, ignored him whenever he _did_ manage to catch up to him, and insulted the boy every turn he got. He found himself spending more time hanging around Gilbert, as he was one of the only people he could really tolerate, and less time at home.

In all that time, the human representatives remained, learning all they could from and about the students. Gilbert had told him that they were on there last days on the island, and he strongly hoped they were. It was becoming very hard for him to avoid them, and sometimes he even wondered if they asked about his whereabouts. The only time he got any peace was when he was with the albino. Then, he wouldn't have to worry about Matthew because he always had an excuse for the two of them, or the humans, because they went to great lengths to avoid him and his suspicious stares.

Their time training the kids was also a great relief to Lovino. When he was there, he could just let loose, without worrying about anyone. Nobody seemed to be as persistent as Lovino, and didn't question Francis or Antonio when they told them that they couldn't go in. It was going well enough, and some of the kids were even able to keep up with both Gilbert and Lovino. Their control of their abilities had also improved, to the point where they didn't have to be constantly wary to ensure that they didn't destroy anything beyond repair.

On this particular day, Lovino was watching Gilbert's last spar with Wendy. She had been one of the most successful in her training, and even managed to clip Gilbert's shoulder, with a particularly large blast of energy. Lovino grimaced at the torn shirt hiding bruised and lacerated skin, but did not stand to help. Gilbert could handle himself, and Wendy knew when she had gone too far, anyway. She stopped her attacks and ran up to the man, along with a few other kids, to check on his well-being.

Lovino smiled and looked back down to pluck at the cool grass beneath him. Peter sat at his side and watched the other kids latch onto Gilbert, but didn't show any inclination to join them. He had a distant look and had been behaving drastically different from his usual hyperactive self. He would occasionally glance at Lovino, but would immediately turn when Lovino turned to him. It was beginning to worry him, so it some what came as a relief when he finally exposed his burden.

"Why don't you come by with Mattie anymore?" Lovino froze, letting the clumps and trims of grass fall from his hand. He had almost forgotten how normal it was for him and Matthew to stop by to play with their siblings. Of course, Peter wasn't actually related to the boy, Tino and Berwald were just the closest thing he had to family after Allistor and the others left. Arthur was constantly on assignment, and either way they always had a falling out. While Peter didn't know what happened, he blamed Arthur for his brothers' departure. It must have been lonely, for the both of them. As far as they were concerned, they had no close family members on the island. Wendy was a very distant cousin, probably generations away from any significantly close ties, along with her older brother.

"D-doesn't Mattie still come by?" Surely he did, he wasn't the type to let someone down, not usually. Peter firmly met his gaze with tearful eyes.

"It's not the same! You and Mattie act differently when you're together; he doesn't talk much when he's alone, and I feel like it's my fault..." His voice grew quiet as his statement progressed, until he had silenced all together and look down at his hands. Lovino was at a loss for words.

"I ... I can't be with him because he.. he has to learn."

"... has to learn what?"

"Hey, are you guys alright? You're quieter than usual." Gilbert looked between the two. His arm was trailing a bit of blood, but he didn't seem to care. Lovino looked more agitated than he usually let on, while Peter looked about ready to burst into tears from frustration.

"Why doesn't Mattie come with Lovi anymore, Gil? You know don't you? You're the one that comes with him now. Bring Mattie. I want to play with him, I want to play with all of you!"

"W-Well, I... I can't really do anything about that, little man. You can't force him and Lovino to make up, either. You'll just have to wait it out. They'll make up soon enough, right Lovino?"

Peter turned to him and fixed him with an impatient stare, before looking back to Gilbert. "What'd you do? It's your fault, isn't it? If you don't help them make up I'll... I'll tell Mom and Dad what you're doing! You have one week Gilbert Beilschmidt!" With that, he stormed off.

The whole thing would have been comical, were it not for the seriousness of the threat of exposure. Gilbert sent a quick glance towards Lovino, before running of, no doubt to try to disuade Peter from following through on his threat.

Lovino puffed out a sigh. All the kids were turning in for the day. It was too late for them to be outside, which meant visiting hours were over.

Lovino gathered his things and trudged into the building, and towards the first guarded door. Gilbert wasn't anywhere in sight, so he was probably still trying to convince Peter. With how stubborn they both were, he decided he would just head home.

Two knocks indicated to the guard that he was ready to leave, and the doors opened and closed behind him. Standing guard once again were Antonio and Francis. Lovino didn't know how they were able to convince the usual heroes to switch places with them and take the shifts for the full visiting hours, but at least he didn't have to explain anything to anyone.

"Hey, Lovi! How was training? Are they getting any better? How do you like working with the kids, anyway? I personally really enjoy playing with them because, well, you can't really play as an adult without someone asking you what you're doing, but I don't have siblings or relatives here, so I guess protecting them is just as good." Lovino scoffed. Only Antonio would be this talkative and hyper after spending hours standing guard. Even Francis was looking rather defeated.

"Which question am I expected to answer, bastard?" Antonio laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. "Sorry, just trying to make conversation and I guess I used all my topics in one go."

Roderich and Elizabeta came through the second set of doors, marking their shift change. Francis was out the second he saw them, while Antonio stayed a few seconds to greet them and ask how they were doing. He would have left the bastard behind, if it weren't for the way Elizabeta was staring at him. It looked like a mixture of curiosity and suspicion, and he didn't know if it was best to take it full on, or flee.

He didn't have to decide, as Antonio whisked him away. "C'mon, Lovi, Gilbert's probably still gonna be a while, so I'll take you home."

"I'm not a damn girl, I dont need you to walk me home, and get your damn hand off of me." Antonio had been leading Lovino with a hand on his lower back, but quickly pulled it away, giving another nervous laugh.

"Sorry, Lovi, I didn't mean it that way." They passed through the second set of doors, where Lars and Bella were switching with a young boy and a bespectacled man he had never seen on the island.

"Who the fuck are they?" Antonio paused and glanced back at the two newly stationed men.

"The small one is Raivis, he's a hero, too, even though he's so young. Romulus and Alaric thought it would be kind of a shame to make him wait until he was older, since he completed all his courses and was passed in the tournament. The other one is Eduard. You've heard of him, right? He's the one that keeps this place running, although he doesn't usually wander outside much. He takes care of the radars detecting movement on and around the island to make sure there are no intruders and shutting down equipment if it comes too close."

Lovino looked back to the man, then to Antonio, shock clear on his face. " _That's_ Eduard?" he said in a harsh whisper, so as to not be heard. The man who he had heard all kinds of great things about, he was the mind of the island where Alaric and Romulus were the heart and soul, he would have at least expected him to look a bit more... impressive. He wasn't bad looking, just plain, pale, and as if a gust of wind would knock him over and the rustling would make him jump ten feet in the air.

Antonio let out a hardy laugh at Lovino's expression. "He doesn't look like much, does he? His power is more technology based. It's why he doesn't go out on missions very often, or go out at all, but he can fight pretty well if he has to. It's not his strong point, but other than being a technopath and his tracking skills, he can manipulate electricity. It's weird that they would place him on guard, though... I guess it's because Arthur and Lukas are on a mission with Vlad. He just turned eighteen, and finished his classes, so he was given the okay to be a hero, since he passed the tournament a while back." He sent Lovino a curious look as the boy tried to remember who Vlad and Arthur were.

He knew who Lukas was, he used to come around from time to time when he would hang out with Matthew. He was a bit odd, but no one on the island was exactly normal. They all had their quirks.

"You still don't know many of the people here, right?" Antonio didn't wait for him to reply as he called out to the pair walking in front of them. Bella and Lars stopped their conversation, and turned to wait for Antonio to catch up with Lovino.

"What are you doing, bastard?" Lovino said, blushing as the two directed their attention to him.

"Don't worry about it, they're cool." He turned to Bella and Lars. "Hey guys, have you met Lovi?"

Bella smiled down at him, while Lars spared him a look that showed he had minimal interest.

"We've introduced ourselves, but haven't properly gotten to know each other."

"Isn't it too late for you to be introducing him to people? He's been on the island for months. If he hasn't met everyone, it's because he has no interest in it." Lovino considered what the man said. He wasn't completely wrong, but he was curious about the other heroes on the island.

"Don't be silly, Lovino's just shy." Lovino gave an indignant squawk.

"I am not _shy_ , bastard! And-" He was about to, in a very _expressive_ manner, tell Antonio that he didn't know _jack shit_ about him, seeing as he didn't spend as much time with him as Matthew or Gilbert when he realized two things.

First, he was in the presence of a lady, and was a gentleman after all, and second, they were all staring at him, and that made him a little uncomfortable, so he stopped there.

"Forget it, I'm going home, and _don't_ follow me, bastard." He began stomping off when he heard a voice call out to him. Strangely enough, it wasn't Antonio, but Bella.

"Hey! Lovino wait!" He paused and turned to see her sending him a playful smile. "I'll show you mine, if you show me yours."

He was taken aback by the statement, and saw that her brother didn't approve, either, but he quickly saw what she meant. The ground between them curled into a small hill, and Lovino stepped back to give it room to move. An enormous arm of earth and grass pulled itself out of the ground, followed by another, then a head. The lower half shifted and a leg dragged itself out, getting onto it's knee as the other pulled itself out.

Once it was free from it's previous casing, it shook once, sending rocks, dirt, and clumps of grass flying from it's body. It was at least two stories tall, and left a gaping hole in the earth from which it had emerged. It studied it's surroundings before eliciting a powerful roar.

Lovino stumbled back, but Bella only moved forward leaning against a leg. The other two were as unfazed as she was. Antonio, with his ever present smile, and Lars had pulled out a cigarette, and was searching his pockets for a lighter.

"Well?" She watched him expectantly, and a little excitedly. Her eyes shone as Lovino nodded.

His arms spread to either side of his slim figure. No way was he going to get shown up. A fire roared and consumed his body, lighting up the dark night, before it spread to encircle the four of them.

From it emerged two powerful tigers on either side. They gave a roar of their own before lunging at each other, snapping and clawing like the real thing. They wrestled each other for a while, a display of their equally matched strength. Every swipe did nothing to harm the other, only clearing away the are before the fire spread to make up for the loss.

Lovino gave a joyful laugh, proud at how far his abilities had developed. The twin beasts rolled in the grass, before morphing into a ten foot long dragon that spiraled into the air in dance-like movements before it was swat down by the earth giant and vanished into the night and from sight. Lovino quelled the flames, and sent the others a confident grin.

"That was... amazing. I've never seen anything like it! It was deadly, and artistic, and... and ... amazing!" Bella clasped her hands in front of her face, eyes wide, and a large grin in her lips. Antonio was watching him in awe, as well, clearly unaware that he had become that good at controlling his abilities. Meanwhile, Lars was puffing away at a newly lit cigarette.

"Lovi, that was- I didn't know you could do that- I- I mean, that's-"

"Incredible. You've gotten pretty damn good under my awesome training, Lovino." Gilbert was standing behind the three, arms crossed, and looking as proud as Lovino. Every discipline and self control exercise he had carefully overwatched had done wonders for his unfurling powers, and it was evident that Lovino thought the same, but he sure as hell wasn't going to admit it.

"What are you talking about, bastard? That was all me." Even as he said it, a smile spread on his lips. Gilbert let out a boisterous laugh as he approached him.

Antonio watched the exchange, a little warily, not sure how to react to Lovino's sudden change in demeanor at his friend's presence.

Bella and Lars didn't seem to notice, and excused themselves, wishing them a good night, and praising Lovino's ability. Or rather, Bella did, although Lars did give him a small nod. Even the giant creature climbed back into the earth, leaving the three alone.

"You good, Toni? You look kinda out of it. Kind of looking at me weird, too. Not used to my sexiness even after all those years together, huh?" Gilbert smirked at him as he stood beside Lovino. Antonio gave a small forced laugh and apologized as he walked over to them, and wedged himself between the two.

"So, Lovino. Are you ready for the Tournament?"

"Damn ready," Gilbert answerd. "He's been training with me almost every day. He's gonna be one of the most fucking awesome heroes outta here." Gilbert reached slapped his back, causing him to stumble.

Lovino sent him a playful glare. "Watch it, bastard. I still got a weak-as-shit human body."

Gilbert let out another raucous laugh. "Lucky for you nobody can touch you without getting roasted, then."

Antonio felt a small sting at the way the two were able to talk like old friends. He figured it was natural, considering all the time they'd spent together, but couldn't help but feel... betrayal? It was irrational, he told himself, but found himself excusing himself less than half the way home, saying he had to take care of something.

Gilbert carried on obliviously, but Lovino faltered a bit at the ghost of a smile he gave when he bid them farewell.

* * *

 **Did... did I do it? Am I updating faster? I actually can't tell XD. I've lost track of time~. Anyway, did I mention the chapters were going to get longer in a previous note? Cuz they're gonna get pretty damn long so I wont end up with, like, 30 something chapters... I mean, I hope. I dunno~ I usually get discouraged if a story is super long, so I don't want you guys losing interest. Anyway! What do you think? Too high school AU-ish? I thought it was last chapter, so I decided to emphasize the superhero thing a bit~. Anyway :D! Personal update: College is going pretty well so far :D... well... if I would actually do my homework when it was assigned instead of, like, waiting until the day before it's due. I seriously have one week to do each assignment... Also! Some guy ran out of French class to catch a Dragonite. It was pretty funny XD. I'm team Valor :D! Spark's cute, though. Looks an awful lot like Denmark. Kinda reminds me of him, his oerson, I mean. I'll stop XD. I'll just keep going on about nonsensical things if I dont XD. ANYWAY! NEW SUPERPOWERS!**

 **Superpowers:**

 **Nikel Anderson (Luxembourg) Age 10: Amalgamation ( the ability to fuse things with one's self or each other)**

 **Leopold Edelstein (Kugelmugel) Age 8: hard light constructs, superhuman agility and reflexes**

 **Marcello Vargas (Seborga) Age 12: atomic manipulation**

 **Wendy Kirkland (Wy) Age 11:telepathy, telekinesis, psionic blasts**

 **Lili Zwingli Age 12: animal communication, superhuman endurance, agility, and reflexes**

 **Peter Kirkland Age 12: Shapeshifting, superhuman endurance, reflexes, and agility**

 **Elizabeta Héderváry Age 29: nature manipulation**

 **Matthew Williams Age 17: Invisibility, teleportation, intangibility**

 **Mathias Køhler Age 32: forcefield generation, energy blasts, superhuman strength and endurance**

 **Berwald Oxenstierna Age 32: Adamantine body armor, absorption, superhuman strength, endurance, and reflexes**

 **Lukas Bondevik Age 32: Astral projection, summoning, telepathy, energy blasts**

 **Tino Vainamoinen Age 30: duplication, echolocation, superhuman reflexes and agility, healing factor**

 **Alfred F. Jones Age 17: Superhuman strength, agility, endurance, stamina**

 **Feliciano Vargas Age 18: Superspeed, healing factor, superhuman stamina**

 **Francis Bonnefoy Age 27: illusion, possession, power neutralization**

 **Alaric Beilschmidt (Germania): superhuman strength, flight, telepathy, reduced aging**

 **Romulus Vargas (Ancient Rome): Superhuman strength and endurance, flight, reduced aging**

 **Lovino Vargas Age 18: Fire and heat manipulation, infrared vision**

 **Antonio Fernandez Carriedo Age 26: animal communication, animal morphing, enhanced senses**

 **Leon Wang (Hong Kong) Age 18: portal creation, superhuman speed, agility, and strength**

 **Ludwig** **Beilschmidt Age 17: elemental transmutation, superhuman endurance and strength**

 **Gilbert Beilschmidt Age 27: disintegration, superhuman endurance, agility, and stamina**

 **Eduard Von Bock Age 28: superhuman tracking, technopathy, electric manipulation**

 **Bella Anderson Age 26: Animation, superhuman strength, reflexes, agility**

 **Thanks for reading, reviewing, and all that orher stuff~!**


	12. Chapter 12

Matthew was laying in bed with a book held above him in outstretched arms. He didn't do much these days, not with Lovino making it very clear that he no longer wanted to spend time with him. Any times he did go out, it was usually because Alfred had dragged him out with _his_ friends.

Speaking of which- A loud crash caused Matthew to yelp and release his book, which crashed against his face and set his glasses askew. He sat up abruptly to find what caused the noise, but once he had, figured he shouldn't have been so surprised.

"Hey! Mattie! Guess what? So, like, I know you've been moping because Lovino doesn't want to talk to you, or whatever, and I know how you don't know how to control that teleporting thing you do, so! I got you some tutors!" Matthew stared up at his brother, appalled and a little frightened. His door was in splinters from Alfred's careless excitement and he was still trying to recover enough to figure out what Alfred had said.

"A... A tutor? But... I thought no one else could... Who is it?"

"Who are _they_ , Mattie." He turned and a signaled for someone to approach, then looked back at Matthew and winked. Behind him appeared Leon, the boy he had sparred with not so long ago, an uncaring look on his face, and a boy named Kiku who he had never personally talked to, but who he knew Alfred spent a lot of his time with.

He greeted them with a nervous smile and a wave, to which Leon nodded and Kiku smiled back slightly.

"Alright, so, check it out. Kiku," he indicated the boy in question, "has power mimicry, so you can figure it out together, and Leon" he motioned to the other, "can use those cool portal energy lights. Smart, huh? Now you can distract yourself from your loneliness _and_ develop an awesome new skill to show off at the tournament."

"W-well, I don't... maybe- I mean, I don't want to b-be a bother o-or waste your time-" Alfred laughed and roughly pat both of the boys beside him on the back.

"It's no bother, Mattie! They got nothin' better to do. Right guys?" Leon shrugged, while Kiku gave him a hesitant smile before quickly flickering his gaze to Alfred.

Matthew was led to the wide expanse of the stadium, where he would soon have to compete. The small breeze that had carried around the leaves and sand, found itself unable to penetrate the high walls surrounding it, allowing a special calmness to settle. Or rather, it would have if Alfred hadn't been making so much noise.

"This is gonna be so cool, Mattie! You _have_ to be on my team. It's gonna be you, me, Ludwig, Feliciano, and Kiku. We're gonna kick some serious ass, bro! We could also do a duo thing! Maybe we'll get to go against Toris and Feliks! Their powers are crazy, I mean, they would be if Feliks concentrated a little more." He turned to find Matthew looking down at the ground, his face curtained by his hair.

"O-or you could compete in the solo tournament. I mean, that's cool, too..." Matthew shook his hair out of his face and looked back at Alfred with a forced smile.

"N-no, sorry, Al. It's just... I really wanted to compete with Lovino, but he isn't talking to me, and I don't know when he will, or if he will. I just thought it was something we should do together..." He looked up to find his brother with a troubled, pensive look and quickly tried to change the subject. "B-but fighting alongside you will be great, too, Al! Remember what you said to me when we first became a family? You said we'd make a kickass team, and we will!" Alfred looked him over, before a large grin spread on his lips.

"Yeah, we totally will! Let's get to practicing! Leon, make a portal thingy! Not too far apart." The boy obeyed and created two, nearly identical, holes in space. He shoved Matthew forward lightly, signalling for him to pass through.

"C'mon, Mattie. It's not your first time. You got kicked through one just a short while ago." Leon gave Alfred a soft glare and turned to Matthew with an apologetic look.

"I can go through with you, if you'd like-"

"N-no, it's fine, I was just observing; it's a little weird." Matthew stuck a hand through, only to see it pop out just a few feet away. He quickly pulled it back, then looked to Alfred who was watching him expectantly. He sighed and stuck his arm through, watching as the same hand a few feet away balled into a fist and spread out at his will. Eventually, he decided it was safe and stepped through, appearing in the same location his arm had been.

"T-that's incredible. It's like a door." The other three began stepping through as well, just as someone spoke to his left.

"It used to be like a hall. A long, empty, pitch black space with a faint light at the other end. It was terrifying sometimes, as if you could never get out." Matthew turned to find Emil approaching him and the others.

Leon gave him a questioning look to which Emil responded with "Young Soo told me Alfred had dragged you away, and Tino had said he'd done the same to Matthew, so I assumed you'd either gone to get food, or spar."

"W-wait. What were you saying?" He shifted his gaze to Leon. "W-was it hard? To put up your portals, I mean. Wasn't it scary? H-how did you do it?"

"Emil was, like, always with me. Whenever I went through, he went with me. Sometimes, towards the end, the portal would start to close. We would race it, as if it were a game." He gave the pale haired boy a small smile and grabbed his hand, causing the boy to become visibly flustered.

Matthew found himself smiling softly at the sight. It was nice, he thought. Everyone here had known each other at least five years, Alfred and Emil had even been raised as cousins. Kiku and Leon were distant cousins, both picked up by Yao and raised together. He felt a little left out, and he found himself missing Lovino more than ever.

"Hey, Mattie? You alright?"

"Y-yeah. Sorry, I just- I'm fine."

"...Alright. Well, I'm gonna need you to do that thing so Kiku can copy it." Matthew tensed and took a small step back. "W-well, I actually don't k-know how to do it o-of my own accord. The- the first time it was because I didn't have time to avoid Gilbert's hit and the other time i-it was the same with Leon." Alfred stared at him thoughtfully before a wide grin spread on his face and he called Emil over. He whispered something in his ear that caused the boy to recoil and stare at Matthew, but, after a few more whispered words, he nodded. Emil stepped back, took a deep breath, and closed his eyes. The other three boys stepped back as well, knowing what was to come, but Matthew remained where he was, never having witnessed Emil's abilities.

The wind became violent, even in the walls of the arena, and the sky darkened as clouds gathered. Matthew looked around himself in awe, and when he finally looked back to Emil he saw the boys eyes wide open, dulled, and glowing. He flinched when Emil's attention snapped back to him, and quickly backed away. The sky roared and soon a flash of light appeared before him. Matthew fell back and only had a few seconds to scurry backwards before another strike nearly hit him. In the third strike, Matthew thought it best to erase his presence. He vanished, and yet the air in which his body had disappeared into was filled with such power and electricity from the lightning that it overwhelmed him and he quickly reappeared, panting. The fourth strike was dead on and inescapable. He found himself unable to move, shaking as the small remaining sparks of electricity ran through his body. He looked up, only seeing a bright light. The next thing he saw was a light, not above him, but in front of him, striking empty space. Another above him, now in front; then another, then another, until Matthew's body was instinctively dodging every strike in random distances.

Sometimes he'd be all the way across the stadium, sometimes a few inches away from the strike, other times several feet away. Soon, another person joined in. There was a flash of black hair in front of him, then next to him. Kiku grabbed his arm, and soon everything around them vanished.

They were in black space. Not a sound could be heard besides their rough breathing, and not a thing could be seen at all. Matthew was beginning to panic, but was placated by the presence of another next to him.

"W-where are we?" Kiku seemed confused as well, looking around, although he was much more calm. "I think... we're in between."

"Between what?"

"Everything. Space, times, dimensions. To move, you have to cut through all three. Cut through space to appear somewhere else without physically moving, between the time necessary to cut through to appear somewhere else in miliseconds, and dimensions that are made of space and time. Everything... is frozen here. If we go back, it'll be as if we were only gone for an instant."

"Then... h-how do we get back?"

"...Where do you want to go? Alfred told me that before, with Mr. Beilshmidt, you were in and out in a second, but for you, you were gone a while and confused, and you thought 'I was in the training room, right?' That's how you got back. You knew where you were and where you wanted to be." The boy grabbed Matthew's arm, blushing lightly at the contact.

"Choose where you want to go, I'll go with you." Matthew nodded slowly. "A-alright." They were back in the stadium, lightning still striking around them, with Emil in the center of it, and Leon and Alfred outside the line of fire.

There was nothing on their faces to show that the two boys had been gone an exceptionally long time, proving Kiku correct in his assumptions.

"You can do it now, just decide where you want to go, but be sure. If you hesitate, or think of something else, you'll be Nowhere again." And he was gone, dodging the flashes of lighting. Matthew found a new burst of energy and excitement. He was sure now, each distance carefully calculated, each movement swift.

Alfred had noticed it, as well. "If you've got it down, take Emil down, Mattie!" He called from the benches.

Matthew nodded with a grin. He could do this now. He continued dodging, slowly getting closer to the boy until he was too close for Emil to strike without the danger of being hit as well. Kiku had long since gone to sit with the other two, leaving them alone. Emil turned, just as Matthew was about to strike, and then- he froze.

Emil quickly moved back enough to allow a large burst of wind to push Matthew sideways and away from Emil. The boy looked to Matthew and the skies gave an ominous roar as small strikes forewarned of a larger storm brewing.

"Hold on! No more! That's enough, Emil!" Alfred jogged over to Matthew and began checking him for injury. "Mattie, what's wrong? You had it! You just needed to attack! You were doing so well!"

"I-I'm sorry, Al. I really tried, it's just... I like Emil, I dont want to hit him."

"Emil just tried to strike you with lightning repeatedly." Alfred stated, unimpressed. Emil let out an indignant noise, obviously upset at the accusation when Alfred was clearly the one that gave him the instruction to do so.

"I'm really sorry. Please don't be mad at me." Matthew began tearing up. At this rate, he wasn't going to have any friends left. Lovino had left him for the same reason, hadn't he? And he had been his friend longer.

Alfred's brow creased as he knelt beside Matthew and took his hand to help him up. He hugged his brother.

"Mattie, I'm not mad at you. I'm just a little worried. I want you to be able to defend yourself. Besides, we can't be a kickass superhero team if you don't become a hero! We'll try again tomorrow, okay?"

"Y-yeah, alright." He looked behind Alfred to the others who had slowly approached. "Thank you. You really didn't have to do this."

"It's not a problem, Matthew," replied Kiku.

"Well, considering Alfred's one of the strongest mutants on the isl-" Emil gave the boy at his side a sharp blow with his elbow, before turning to Matthew. "We were glad to help."

All four boys left the arena. Alfred and Kiku walked in front of them, talking about some videogame, while an uncomfortable silence rested over the other three. Leon and Emil would occasionally send him worried glances, and he really wanted to know why, but couldn't find it in himself to ask. Eventually, they both spoke up.

"I'm sorry-"

"I'm sorry-"

Oh, he thought. So that had been it, they were worried about their near deadly attacks on him. He laughed, causing the two to raise a brow in confusion. It was funny, at least to him, but he couldn't clearly pick out why. A part of him thought it was that they had been so quiet all this time for something like that, but a more cynical part of himself thought it was funny that they apologized at all. It wasn't common, not before coming here.

It was only Lovino who would apologize; when he couldn't protect him, or he had left him alone too long, or just when he had remembered the situation they were in in general. Right now, he didn't care if he apologized or not, he just wanted his friend back- oh. Speak of the Devil. That was the second time that had happened today. Maybe he was a little clairvoyant, too.

Lovino was making his way towards the dorms, an obvious purpose in mind, Matthew noticed. He was a bit hopeful, but it quickly vanished when he saw the boy's irritated reaction at the sight of their small group. He saw Alfred turn back to look at him before he called out to Lovino.

"Hey! Hold on a second." Lovino only scoffed and continued on his way. He didn't have time for this. That bastard Antonio had called in sick and hadn't shown up for his shift at the children's section and he needed to know why. He hadn't so much as sneezed yesterday.

"I don't have time for your bullshit, Alfred. I got shit to do-" he let out a small grunt as a tight grip on his arm pulled him back. He looked down to see that the boy had grabbed him, and had a very irritated look on his face. If Lovino had a little less pride, he would have cowered under his stare, but he simply met it head on with an annoyed glare of his own.

"Let go of my arm, Jones." He spit out.

"It's not _my_ bullshit I want you to deal with, _Lovino_. I want to know why the fuck you threw Mattie away like a used tissue." Lovino flinched slightly, but continued to hold his ground.

"Alfred..." a small voice said, but went mostly ignored by the two confrontational boys.

"It's none of your _fucking_ business-" Alfred's grip tightened, causing Lovino to wince and let out a small, barely audible, whimper.

"It's my damn fucking business if it's upsetting my _brother_ as much as it is. You put on a pretty fucking nice show about how you were the best of fucking friends. So, what? Was he just your friend out of convenience? Now that your surrounded by people stronger than him you'd rather align yourself with them?" Lovino was trying desperately to keep his eyes from watering from both the pain and the accusations.

Alfred didn't know shit. Not about him, and especially not about his relationship with Matthew. He cared for him more than Alfred ever could, and he wanted to tell him that. To yell it in his face, but he held himself back and only spoke two words to show his anger.

" _Fuck you."_ Alfred twisted his wrist slightly, but it was enough to make him let out a small groan.

"Alfred, stop. You're going to break his wrist." Once again it fell on deaf ears.

"You don't have a pinch if what it takes to be a hero. You're a coward." That was the last straw.

He hadn't fought back or burned the bastard's hand off like he usually would because a part of him yearned to be punished and scolded for his cruel attitude towards Matthew, but Alfred didn't know a thing about his intentions and he had no right to call him a coward. He wouldn't have lasted a day in his own shoes. Not now on the island living with Romulus, or before in the lab with the constant tests of the limitations of his experimental form. Lovino swung with his free hand, and a flame enveloped fist crashed against Alfred's cheek causing him to give a pained groan and stumble back, releasing Lovino, but the boy didn't leave. He waited for Alfred to stand, bruising, swollen wrist cradled against his chest. He wouldn't need his hand to fight.

Alfred, with his loving family and dozens of friends could go to hell for all he cared, and maybe he'd send him their personally. Alfred straightened, cheek colored a disgustingly glistening shade of red. He wasn't going to back down either. It was Kiku who finally decided to step up this time, knowing that Matthew's attempts had been in vain.

"Alfred, I really don't think you should-"

"Shut up," he snarled, eyes fixed on Lovino, who stood only a few feet away. The second Alfred charged, Lovino was covered in roaring flames at least two times taller than him. He wasn't stupid, he wouldn't survive in a close range fight, he had to make sure he kept his distance. Even still, the cover he had provided himself seemed to do little to deter Alfred.

Time for his newest card trick, he thought as a tiger sprung from his cover and charged at the boy. It was his opponent now. The two circled each other, Alfred unaware of how to fight such an opponent, and the dumb beast completely subject to Lovino's command. He wasn't going to have it attack Alfred until he posed a real threat. He _wasn't_ going to be the bad guy, he would defend himself, and if more than a few small injuries were dealt to Alfred, good, but just as Alfred was about to move, dark shapes encircled the beast and extinguished it, while others blocked Alfred's path to Lovino.

"For fuck's sake, Alfred. Can't you go more than a week without pissing someone off. Cheeky prat, just because your stronger than most students doesn't mean you can go around picking fights." Alfred's face changed to a mixture of excitement and confusion.

"Arthur." Was all he said as three men approached the scene. One was Lukas, obviously the one responsible for the dark shapes. The one with the irritated crease on his large brows that were settled above his acidic green eyes and choppy blond hair had been the one Alfred called Arthur, and Lovino remembered Antonio telling him that a boy named Vlad had accompanied them on his first mission. He actually seemed a bit excited by the whole thing, but it could have been residue from the thrill of his first assignment.

"What has happened here?" It was Lukas who decided to try and figure out the root of the problem. He looked between Alfred and Lovino, whose flames had long since died down.

No one spoke up. They all looked to their feet, as if personally responsible. Matthew looked especially troubled.

"Emil?" Lukas turned his attention to his brother. The boy looked up and turned a bright red at the exposure of the authority the man held over him.

"I don't have to tell you any-" Lukas raised a brow and inclined his head a bit more so that he was now looking down at his brother. His cold eyes bore into him, and the boy gave a defeated sigh.

"Lovino was walking by and Alfred called out to him, but Lovino said he had other things to do and kept walking. Alfred grabbed him and twisted his wrist, so Lovino punched him, and they started fighting- or, were about to..."

"I just meant that you hadn't greeted me, but thank you for the information." Emil's eyes widened and his face turned several shades of bright red, before he turned away from his brother and began to stomp back to the dorms without another word, Leon following closely behind.

"Be home in time for dinner." Emil flipped him off, not even bothering to turn back. Lukas hummed and turned his attention back to the remaining boys, specifically the ones about to tear each other apart. "I hope you understand that I will have to report this to Romulus and Alaric-"

"Don't! I- It was my fault. I provoked Alfred, and I threw the first punch. I will take any punishment you give me willingly, just- don't tell Romulus." Lukas watched him a moment longer with a hard stare that made him tense up.

As the captain of the current team, this was completely his call. He turned to Vlad and dismissed the boy, who nodded hesitantly and walked away with a small wave to the boys who used to be his classmates. Now that that was taken care of, Lukas turned back to Lovino. He watched him a bit longer before he sighed.

"It's against protocol, but I won't report it, if only because this is your first fight in all the time you've been here, and Alfred's third this week, so there is no doubt in my mind that he somehow provoked you, even if you _did_ throw the first punch."

"Ivan started it those other three times!" With one quick look, Alfred was completely silenced and back to looking at the ground.

"I will, however, be telling _your_ parents about what you did, Alfred."

"You saw how Mattie was behaving the whole week! It's his faul-"

"Even still, they can resolve their own issues, and if they choose not to, that is still their own business. You have no right getting involved." He looked to the other boys, who were still standing around uncomfortably, unsure of what to do.

"The rest of you can go. Oh, and Kiku," the boy looked up. "Please don't let Alfred over for a while, even if his parents are away on assignment." Kiku gave a curt nod and walked back towards the dorms with Matthew.

"Alfred, I'm taking you to the infirmary, and then to your parents." The boy in question gave a small nod.

Lovino had begun to walk away, when he heard someone call out to him.

"Lovino? You should really go to the infirmary and get your wrist healed. Alfred is a bloody brute after all, he might have sprained, or even broken it..."

Lovino turned, but didn't change his course. His injured arm hung at his side, the only evidence of anything wrong with it, or him, was a darkening bruise on his right wrist.

"I still have something I wanted to do, but thanks. I'll go later," he said, and continued walking towards the dorms.

In fact, there was a throbbing, uncomfortable pain present, and he would have much rather gone to get it fixed, but not while they were there. He was grateful that Lukas decided to let him off, but he worried that a conversation concerning his relationship with Matthew might come up, and he wasn't sure he could lie to those scrutinizing eyes. So he continued on his way to the dorms, not even cradling his injured wrist in order to pass it off as fine.

When he had finally arrived at Antonio's dorm, he could hear movement from inside. Good, he thought, so the bastard was awake. He wasted no time in throwing the door open and stomping in, but stopped when he saw Antonio's state of half dress. The man was only dressed in a pair of pajama pants, no shirt in sight. He jumped and turned at the sound of the door crashing against the wall and turned to see Lovino. He was beet red, from embarrassment, which quickly changed to anger.

"For fuck's sake, Antonio. Don't you have a sense of decency?!" He quickly looked away and covered his eyes. While the man tried to make sense of the situation.

"What are yo- Wait-it's my dorm, and I wasn't exactly expecting company!" Even still, Lovino heard footsteps pass by him, followed my some rustling of fabric.

"You can open your eyes now, Lovi." Lovino slowly opened one eye, then when it seemed safe, he opened the other, seeing Antonio had put on a shirt. He crossed his arms and let out a huff, looking him up and down.

"You don't look very sick, bastard."

"O-oh," Antonio laughed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Well, I mean, I've been working the child's sector for a good month now, so I thought I needed a break, and since I had to insist to get every shift, saying I wanted a break would've seemed like I was quitting, and if they replace me, what would you and Gilbert do, right?" Lovino eyed him suspiciously, arms still crossed, face still stern.

"You said you really liked guarding the children's sector. Are you lying to me now, or were you lying to me then?" Antonio began to fidget, but did his best to look Lovino in the eyes as he answered.

"W-what? No, I mean, I wasn't lying then-"

"So you're lying now?" He winced, and took a cautious step back.

"I'm not lying! I liked working with the kids, but I need a break, too!" Lovino scoffed, following Antonio's movements, and moving with him.

"You're lying again! I'd believe this shit from Francis, because he actually looked done as fuck, but you practically fucking skipped out of there! So what the fuck is the real problem?!"

Despite his agitation, Lovino kept his arms crossed, trying not to make any significant gestures that would further damage his injured wrist. Luckily, Antonio was too distracted to take note of it. The man in question threw his hands up in frustration. He was obviously a poor liar, and clearly didn't expect anyone to ask questions, which meant he hadn't created answers.

"The real problem is-! No, it's nothing, there is no problem, you know, I actually think I'm getting a bit of a headache, maybe I am sick, would you mind leaving?"

"Don't brush me off, Antonio!" He pushed the man back, cornering him.

"What happened to your wrist?" They both paused as Antonio gingerly took it into his hands, turning it over. Lovino quickly snatched it back, despite the pain of such a quick movement, not willing to let him change the subject.

"I'll tell you if you tell me." He crossed his arms again, more calm than he previously was.

"That's not funny, Lovino. You need to go to the hospital wing."

"If you're so sick, maybe you do, too."

"Lovino-"

"Bastard," he stated simply.

They both watched each other in silence for the next moments, a battle of their own will. Antonio already looked like he was torn, and within seconds he laid out his burden.

"Do you like Gil?" Lovino tilted his head to the side, not seeing how this had to do with anything.

"Yeah, sure. I mean, he's cool, pretty fun to be around when he's not being a cocky bastar-"

"No, I mean, do you _like_ him."

"What the hell are yo- oh- _oh._ Like fuck I do! Why the fuck would you think that?! He's like a stupid older brother to m- Is _that_ what's been bothering you?! Motherfucker, if that's what you thought and that's what's been bothering you, you are one of the stupidest people on this island."

Lovino watched him as if he had sprouted a second head. He couldn't wrap his mind around the idea of anyone thinking he _actually_ liked Gilbert.

He wouldn't believe anybody could like his cocky ass if Matthew hadn't told him he found him attractive. Sure, he was a cool guy, good friend, but he had the tendency to get annoying, always denying any shortcomings and going into detailed stories of his 'awesomeness' it was like he didn't know the meaning of modesty. Of course, Matthew didn't know how to be proud, so it came together well.

"But- you two are always around each other, and he seems to be one of the only people you like, and he even talks about you a lot, too. I just assumed-"

"Well, don't assume, bastard. I like Gil 'cause he's pretty cool, and funny, and doesn't treat me like a _thing."_ It was clear that that was a direct strike against Antonio, even to Antonio who couldn't remember an instant when he had treated Lovino any less than what he was.

"I never-"

"Yes, you fucking did. Look deeper into that mostly empty thing you have for a brain. The first time you met me you thought I was sick, you asked if a _clone_ could even get sick. As if I were some overheated _fucking_ desk lamp. The only two people who actually treated us like we were normal were Tino and Gilbert.

"Tino was the one who stopped us from being trapped in that dungeon, he was the one who opened the way for us to be allowed into the school, he was the one that acted like a parent, even to me! He told me to get out of my wet clothes because I would catch a cold, for fuck's sake! He didn't have to think twice about whether it was possible or not. And Gilbert has always stood by us, I can't even give a single instance because he was always there. Everyone else thinks we're aliens or something, they're either scared or want to tear us open and see what makes us tick. Of course I'd want to be around them. I mean... I can't be around Tino anymore... but... at least Gilbert."

"I- didn't know. Nobody knew. You were so different-"

"They knew. You couldn't have just treated me like a person?" Lovino attempted to blink away the tears. This wasn't just something he wanted to tell Antonio, it was what he had wanted to say to Romulus, and Elizabeta, and everyone who had looked at him the way the founders first had.

He looked to the ground. The tears were welling up too quickly him to will them away. Antonio hadn't said anything, hadn't made a single move.

"Yeah... c'mon. We need to get you to the hospital wing." He felt a soft touch on his upper arm. Lovino let out a short breathy laugh.

"You dont think it'll just put itself back together if we leave it? I heard they're making very advanced machines these days." Lovino straightened and him a soft smile. Antonio let out a small chuckle, clearing the remaining tears away.

"Yes, but you're not a machine or a thing."

"Okay, but who can know for sure. I could have made in China stamped across my ass." Lovino laughed with glee, pretending to try to look at his backside.

"We'll check later," Antonio teased, guiding him through the door.

"Perverted bastard."

* * *

 **The tournament is coming up soon :D! Two or three more chapters :D! I hope it goes well XD. I had to reread everything to add up all the time that has passed (4-5 months, give or take) and I have come to the conclusion that I should go back and edit all my typos when I have time because there are so many XD. Anyway~, I got nothing much else to say in this note, so I'll just carry on into the superpowers~. Two new ones :D Emil and Kiku! Oh! I added answers to reviews to the note, below superpowers, and I explained as best as I could what happened to Ludwig because Red-Hot Habanero asked, and I realized that I hadn't gone too much into detail, and wasn't sure if I would really have the chance to later :D.**

 **S** **uperpowers:**

 **Kiku Honda Age 18: Mimicry, power enhancement**

 **Emil Steilsson Age 18: Weather manipulation, superhuman speed, stamina, and reflexes, levitation**

 **Nikel Anderson (Luxembourg) Age 10: Amalgamation ( the ability to fuse things with one's self or each other)**

 **Leopold Edelstein (Kugelmugel) Age 8: hard light constructs, superhuman agility and reflexes**

 **Marcello Vargas (Seborga) Age 12: atomic manipulation**

 **Wendy Kirkland (Wy) Age 11:telepathy, telekinesis, psionic blasts**

 **Lili Zwingli Age 12: animal communication, superhuman endurance, agility, and reflexes**

 **Peter Kirkland Age 12: Shapeshifting, superhuman endurance, reflexes, and agility**

 **Elizabeta Héderváry Age 29: nature manipulation**

 **Matthew Williams Age 17: Invisibility, teleportation, intangibility**

 **Mathias Køhler Age 32: forcefield generation, energy blasts, superhuman strength and endurance**

 **Berwald Oxenstierna Age 32: Adamantine body armor, absorption, superhuman strength, endurance, and reflexes**

 **Lukas Bondevik Age 32: Astral projection, summoning, telepathy, energy blasts**

 **Tino Vainamoinen Age 30: duplication, echolocation, superhuman reflexes and agility, healing factor**

 **Alfred F. Jones Age 17: Superhuman strength, agility, endurance, stamina**

 **Feliciano Vargas Age 18: Superspeed, healing factor, superhuman stamina**

 **Francis Bonnefoy Age 27: illusion, possession, power neutralization**

 **Alaric Beilschmidt (Germania): superhuman strength, flight, telepathy, reduced aging**

 **Romulus Vargas (Ancient Rome): Superhuman strength and endurance, flight, reduced aging**

 **Lovino Vargas Age 18: Fire and heat manipulation, infrared vision**

 **Antonio Fernandez Carriedo Age 26: animal communication, animal morphing, enhanced senses**

 **Leon Wang (Hong Kong) Age 18: portal creation, superhuman speed, agility, and strength**

 **Ludwig Beilschmidt Age 17: elemental transmutation, superhuman endurance and strength**

 **Gilbert Beilschmidt Age 27: disintegration, superhuman endurance, agility, and stamina**

 **Eduard Von Bock Age 28: superhuman tracking, technopathy, electric manipulation**

 **Bella Anderson Age 26: Animation, superhuman strength, reflexes, agility**

 **Reviews:**

Red-Hot Habanero:

Chapter 8: Hmmm... ya know, I don't know where I put him. Just kidding~ I don't think that's something I can tell you right now, but I think I do bring it up later, definitely by the end of the story, and yes :D!

Kinda sad that he's the only one, but other than Alaric with helping them in their studies the first few weeks they were there, and Tino, except he still had his missions, he's the one who had spent the longest time continuously with them of all the heroes, so he's the one who has grown closest to them and who understands that they're not really bad, or a danger~.

That's probably right XD! But I don't expect them to be much use in their first real exposure to a fight.

Chapter 9:

I've always liked seeing those two teamed up :D! Of course, I like Lovino and Matthew teamed up more because they're so alike, yet different, but I think looking at the canon, he would definitely fit in with that group, too :0, so I did fit him in~.

Tell me about it, Matthew's practically untouchable XD. But he is scared of him being angry, if not because of the physical damage, then the strain it would put on their friendship, if there's any piece of it left, I mean...

Chapter 10:

Yep~. Feli wasn't sick of Lovi by any means, he really does love him, it's just that what had happened with Ludwig has made him a bit more cautious, so he can't help but want to stay by Ludwig's side. Lovino doesn't know the whole story, so he just thinks Feliciano prefers him and is kinda jealous of Ludwig.

Ludwig definitely still has his superpowers, he fought with Alfred in the arena in chapter 5 (?). His main power is elemental transmutation, and he's actually one of the stronger heroes because of his strict way of conducting himself, as a result of what had happened.

I explained it in pieces in chapter 7 and 8, but what had happened was that when Ludwig was 5 he had become harder to control, and he was infatuated with Feliciano because he was his first and only friend. As he started to make more friends, Ludwig became upset, you know how kids are, he would become jealous and would try to keep people away.

Romulus had noticed, and he feared for Feliciano's safety, so he moved him out of the Founder's mansion for a while, and took him out of school for a bit, too. That didn't sit too well with Ludwig, I mean, he was missing his only friend and he didn't have much control over his abilities, which are prone to react with emotion, and he caused a lot of damage. At the same time, Alaric was trying to talk Romulus down from any major decisions, and had trouble dealing with Ludwig because he knew, for the most part, what would happen to him. Gilbert noticed this too, and became worried, not sleeping much, and the sort, and lost control of his abilities during a mission, destroying part of a city, until Francis subdued him. That furthered Romulus's decision because he didn't really try to connect the dots between Feliciano being taken away, Ludwig's erratic behavior, Alaric's distance, and Gilbert's worries and he had Francis detain Ludwig, while Dylan Kirkland (Wales) was made to wipe his memory clean. None of the other heroes or students at the time were allowed to know, so he had Eduard develop a program that would teach him so that no one else was in the loop.

The way he came to be taught things was by the book, clear instructions, detailed, logical explanations to things, and that played a huge role in how his personality developed, in that he wasn't exposed to other people on an emotional level for a long time. Of coure, after the older Kirklands left, Dylan exposed what he did and Ludwig was integrated back into the school. Kinda fucked up, but he really did think he was doing what was best for everyone, he let his emotions get in the way.

Chapter 11:

Thank so much :D! ... No comment about the visit thing XD. Lars's power is going to be revealed in, like, two chapters :D! He is one of the strongest mutants, not physically, but in what he can do.

Hmm... I guess I choose there powers based on a mixture of personality, canon things that they are interested in, or do, and occasionally just random things, like appearance. So, like Feliciano, he's hyperactive, and there was that part where he ran hella fast because he thought England was after him or whatever XD, or like Alfred, he's hella strong in the canon, he's hella strong here. Lovino has a bad temper, quick to go off, so I gave him fire manipulation as a main ability. Germany is pretty resourceful and good at making things, so he has elemental transmutation. Mathias is the protector of the Nordics, for the most part, so I just had to give him the ability to make a forcefield XD. Hong Kong belonged to both England and China, so I somehow associated that with the portals? As for Emil, his hair is pale XD. Let's be real here, he looks like Storm, and I liked her powers and thought someone should have them. Plus, I mean, I dunno, "Ice" is in the name XD? Anyway, so much for asking, I really like talking about how I came up with all their powers, but, sadly, this is already really long XD. Thanks so much for reviewing!

 **Thanks so much for reading, reviewing, following, and all that jazz :D!**


	13. Chapter 13

"Good Night, Kat. Is Yao still not back?" Antonio walked into the infirmary casually, hands in his pockets, as if he were just visiting. Any sign of stress or tension he had presented earlier that day or the day prior had vanished. He did keep looking to Lovino, however, whether it was to make sure the boy was still beside him safe and sound, or simply to admire the fact that he was beside him, he didn't know, but it made Lovino blush like mad.

Beside him the boy was looking around, pretending he didn't see every one of the Spaniard's adoring gazes. He was cradling his wrist near his chest, which he had been doing since they had left Antonio's dorm to keep him from accidentally bumping into it while they walked like he had the first two times.

He hadn't been to the infirmary since the first time, and even then he didn't get a good look at everything. The walls were a pristine white and tiled halfway down and dissolved into soon linoleum as they spread across the ground. Four beds lined the wall nearest to the large arching windows, and had bright, yellow cloth curtains ready to envelop each bed, if the need arise. At the corner of the room stood a tall, white desk with a computer and scattered papers on it. Everything seemed rather ordinary, if not bland, with the exception of a few things here and there.

What interested Lovino most, however, were the drawings on the wall that looked to be done by kids. They added color and life to the dull environment of the infirmary. When he went over to see them, he noted that they were made by kids, the academy's kids, from the signatures on them.

There were some from every generation. Some were framed and yellowing, while others looked new and were only pinned to the wall. They all had their own charm about them, and brought a smile to Lovino's lips. He wondered what he would have drawn at that age, had he been there.

"Lovino? C'mon, Katyusha can fix your wrist," Lovino jumped a little at the sudden voice, but turned and briskly made his way over.

A woman stood waiting patiently for him. She was rather tall, looked kind, and gave off a motherly vibe. She was still fairly young, with short hair that didn't yet reach her chin, and bright blue eyes that showed an innocence comparable to Matthew's, and on that alone, he couldn't help but trust her. She smiled softly and beckoned him forward, sitting him on one of the beds.

"Alright, Lovino. This'll only take a moment." She kneeled before him and placed a hand directly above and under the injury. Lovino watched curiously as her hands began to glow white and the bruising slowly receded. A horrified part of him noted that he could _feel_ everything sliding back into place, even though there was no pain. Meanwhile, Antonio and Katyusha kept up their conversation, as if the transformation of his wrist was a common occurrence, which it probably was, he figured, disturbed, nonetheless.

"So how long has he been gone?" Katyusha chewed on her lip, looking to the ground as she gave a pensive hum.

"I think ... just about a week after Lovino and Matthew showed up was when he left, and he hasn't been back since..." Lovino looked up at the mention of his name, but nobody paid him any mind.

"Are you sure? He came to the meeting to decide on the human's welcome." _Oh_ , he thought. Gilbert had told him about that.

"No, no I'm sure he wasn't here. Peter had asked me the same day if he was around, and I remember telling him he wasn't. If he was, maybe it was a brief visit to decide only, but I don't know why he would just come for the meeting..." There it was. Antonio hummed in agreement. Lovino watched the two and was about to ask about Yao, having seen him briefly, and heard small things about him, but before he could gather the courage, Katyusha spoke up.

"All better! Try moving it around a bit. I'm not as good as Yao, but I have been learning from him for years. How does it feel?" She smiled brightly down at him, and Lovino couldn't help but soften his voice when he spoke to her.

"Much better, thank-" The door to the infirmary was shoved open as a man made his way in. He looked full of a clear intent and carried that ever present powerful aura around him.

"Antonio, I need you to..." Romulus stopped abruptly and trailed off his statement as he saw Lovino sitting on the hospital bed, but quickly managed to shake it off for the time being, and act as if he hadn't faltered.

"There's a new mutant I want you to talk to and pick up, if you can. Take Arthur with you, it looks like he's a distant relation. When you find him, come to my office, I'll give you the rest of the details there." Lovino noticed that he kept sending him small glances between his instruction, and really wished he had come in when Antonio had told him to earlier, or even when Arthur had.

"Isn't Arthur on assignment?" Antonio stepped away from the other two and closer to Romulus.

"He just came back."

"But if he just came back-" Romulus sighed in frustration.

When he gave an order, he expected it to be followed without hesitation.

"It won't be a hard assignment, Antonio; Arthur will be fine."

"I guess so... Bye Kat, thanks a lot. Bye Lovi, I'll try to find you before I leave." Romulus walked out, with Antonio trailing after him, waving goodbye to the two he had left behind. Katyusha waved back and wished him good luck, while Lovino, blushing and pouting, averted his attention.

Just outside the doors, Romulus paused and gave Antonio a stern look.

"What happened to him?" He asked in a harsh whisper.

"O-oh. Um... I don't really know? Maybe he hurt himself while he was training? Gilbert said Alaric gave them the okay to compete in the tournament, so he could have been preparing for that." Antonio rubbed the back of his neck nervously, refusing to look Romulus in the eyes.

"Did he?" He asked, clearly interested. Alaric had yet to mention that detail to him, and the thought of it bothered him. Until it was clear what connection the two had with the men that came, or if they had any at all, he didn't want something like their becoming heroes to be a possibility. He had already been too lenient by letting them enroll in the school, and had yet to hear from Yao on any of it.

Antonio picked up on his troubled expression and spoke again.

"Y-yeah. Apparently Matthew had asked... Is it a problem?" Romulus cleared his throat and straightened himself.

"No. It's not. And that wasn't what I was asking about. How did he really hurt himself, Antonio? You're an awful liar. I've known you since you were just a kid, so tell me the truth." It was _another_ topic of interest, maybe not his priority, but he did want to know how, or rather, why Lovino had ended up in the infirmary.

"Well... I-" Antonio began to squirm, dropping his gaze again. A sudden thought crossed his mind that made his fists clench.

Sure, he didn't completely trust the boy, but he was still a pretty good kid. Feliciano was happy around him, and he hadn't destroyed anything yet. He also had a small feeling that he was in cahoots with Gilbert to train the kids, although he would deny any knowledge of that small detail if ever asked. In fact, he thought it a great idea, but having someone do it under his direction would only lead to a larger conflict with Alaric.

The boy had also, in a way, reminded him of himself. He had a bad temper, a dirty mouth, and was as stubborn as a mule. Sometimes, watching him act so much like himself made him laugh. He was almost the spitting image of himself in his youth, too, if it weren't for his luminescent golden eyes. All-in-all, he couldn't deny that the kid was growing on him, so anyone having hurt the boy was a little aggravating, to say the least.

"Did you hurt him?" He took a threatening step forward. Antonio was the one that brought him after all, and, while he didn't think him very capable of hurting him, he was denying any knowledge of what had happened.

"Wha- No! I couldn't- I mean, I wouldn't-" Antonio took a step back, arms raised in surrender, eyes wide.

Romulus gave him a quick once over, before dismissing the thought. No, Antonio wasn't usually the type to hurt someone first, and he didn't have a scratch on him. Although... he did seem awfully close to the boy, and he wasn't completely sure he was okay with that, either. He was, technically, _much_ younger than him.

"Fine. I get it. I'll ask him later. Go find Arthur. " Antonio gave a hesitant nod, sparing a look to the doors separating them from Lovino before he left.

Lovino stepped out shortly after, flexing his fingers and rotating his wrist before he stopped dead in his tracks at the sight of Romulus's imposing figure still standing outside the infirmary.

He hesitated, not knowing if he was supposed to greet him, or simply walk past him and out of the hospital wing, but, in any sense, Romulus was watching him.

Lovino decided upon the latter, and was about to slip away, when Romulus called out to him.

"Lovino, why did you need to come to the infirmary?" The boy tensed and slowly turned to him. Unlike Antonio, he looked him in the eyes as he lied.

"I hurt my wrist during training, sir." The two steadily gazed at each other, their own will more of a match than Lovino and Antonio's or his and Antonio's.

"Who were you training with when you hurt it?"

"Gilbert, sir," Lovino said without hesitation.

"Why wasn't Gilbert the one who brought you to the infirmary, then?" Romulus said, arching a brow. He knew that Lovino was lying, he just didn't know why.

"He was making a big deal so I told him I was fine so he wouldn't feel bad." Each lie had been carefully thought out, he noted. The boy had obviously realized there was some chance he would see him, and made sure he wouldn't know the truth.

"Must have taken a lot of convincing. Gilbert's as stubborn as you are."

"Yes, sir."

"Are you sure that's what happened?"

"Yes, sir."

"Lovino don't lie to me. I've been around much longer than you, I know how to tell when someone is lying. What really happened?"

"It doesn't matter."

"You were hurt, Lovino. I just want to know who hurt you." Both refused to waver, but both also knew that they were running around in circles, so Lovino decided to put an end to it.

"It's been taken care of. Good night, sir." Lovino rushed out the door before Romulus could stop him again. The man let out an annoyed huff as his brows creased in frustration. He would ask Gilbert, but the man would probably go along with Lovino's story without hesitation. He turned back to the doors of the infirmary.

Lovino wouldn't have just taken a hit. He would have given one back. If he had come to the infirmary, then maybe the other person did, too.

Katyusha was typing a report of the latest injury she had cared for when Romulus walked in again. She stood immediately from her desk, wishing him a good night and asking him if he needed anything, or if he needed treatment.

"No, nothing like that. I want to know who else had come into the infirmary today."

"Who else? Let's see... Peter and Marcello came in again. Both scuffed up, as if they'd been rolling around in the dirt. Gilbert came in, too. He had a torn up arm, but he came very early in the morning. Jett came in, too. He had been sparring with Alfred. Oh! Alfred came in with him!

"...Alfred came in twice, now that I think about it. The first time for the scratches and torn skin from his fight with Jett, the second time Lukas and Arthur came in with him, he had a burnt cheek, but they wouldn't tell me what happened. Lukas and Arthur did look very upset with him, though. Lukas had told him to just drop it when they first arrived, but they came in about an hour before Lovino. I think that was all today?"

"Alfred, huh?"

"Did he do something wrong, Founder?" Romulus's brows creased as he looked to the floor, troubled. Why hadn't Lovino told him that Alfred had hit him? Had the boy threatened him? No. He wasn't like that. Alfred was a hero, through and through, even if he was a little pigheaded. More importantly, why had Lukas and Arthur not reported the incident to him?

"No, it's nothing. Thank you, Katyusha. It's late, you should get some rest."

"It's not a problem at a- Is that the time?!" It was nearly 12 in the morning by that point. She began hurriedly typing the rest of her report as Romulus bid her a good night and stepped out. It must have been hard on her, to take care of everything without Yao. Hopefully, he would be back soon.

* * *

It was well past midnight when the sound of voices awoke Matthew. He sat up, staring at the curtain his dad had placed as a temporary door, trying to make sense of the murmurs, but found that they were completely unintelligible. He stared blankly for a moment longer before his curiosity got the best of him.

He slowly got up, grabbing his glasses and making sure to keep from making any noise as he slipped through the curtain. He proceeded to make his way down the hall, but stopped just as he was about to reach the living room.

He was about to reveal himself with the excuse of coming out for water, but stopped when he heard his own name. Matthew listened intently to the conversation from where he stood.

"Are you sure they're asleep?"

"Yes, yes. Alfred hasn't left his room since we scolded him, and Matthew came back exhausted, but are you sure it's not better to have discussed this at your place? I'm not sure the makeshift door we gave Matthew will keep much noise out.

"I swear, Alfred... that boy has torn down enough doors in his lifetime to cover everyone's dorms... Oh, but I couldn't scold him for that... he already looked very upset about what had happened with Lovino." Tino quieted on the last part, as if saying it to himself, and he must have been, since the others paid it no mind.

"Emil asks too many questions, and he's too persistent. He's not used to not getting his way, so it would be hard to keep it from him. We couldn't even give him the flying lessons without him asking what it was about, or why we would teach him if he wasn't planning to be a captain. It took a month to persuade him that it was in case he wanted to become a captain, and I still think he's suspicious."

"Ya think we've spoiled him?" Mathias said in an amused tone, as if already knowing the answer.

"Almost completely certain." He heard his dad hum in agreement and the couch shifting under someone adjusting themselves.

"Why d'ya think he's actin' tha' way? Was close t' M'ttie b'fore." The question seemed out of context, but still, hearing his dad display some concern made him really happy. maybe it was something he'd been worrying about for a while, too. It was most likely a respond to his mom's comment, he quickly realized. He was brought away from his ponderings as he heard someone else speak up.

"Do you think it has something to do with Gilbert? He has been spending a shit ton of time with him. They always visit the kids together, too," Mathias said.

Matthew had noted it as well, and had had the same suspicion, but quickly brushed it off, ready to favor his friend over any love interest. He only wished Lovino had done the same.

"It can't be. Lovino wouldn't leave Matthew for something as superficial as that? He's a good boy, and he loves Mattie." More like used to, he thought, clenching the bottom of his shirt firmly in his hands. He looked at the carpet beneath his bare feet and was ready to walk away. He didn't very much appreciate having everyone know that Lovino hated him now, or having them gather deep into the night to gossip about it, but Lukas's voice stopped him.

"Maybe that's why he's doing it."

"What do you mean?" Mathias asked, sounding as confused as he was. He leaned closer to the wall dividing the living room and the hall. His dad was the one who answered him.

"Hm. Th' same way he's trainin' the kids?"

"Probably trying to prepare him for what might come," Lukas continued for him.

"What do you mean? How is that preparing him? I'm sure if something bad happens people will treat him like shit, but-" there was an audibly irritated sigh, most likely from Lukas, as he was the one who responded.

"Think a little before you speak, please, Mathias. Lovino has made blatant attacks at Matthew, and his family, with Alfred today, on top of his attitude towards him. He's waiting for Matthew to strike back. From what I heard from Emil, he has yet to strike, period. Maybe he's trying to provoke him."

"But why would he do something like that? Mattie... he could, or better yet, _has_ misunderstood. I really don't want to see my baby so sad, anymore. I hope it ends soon..." There was a bit of a whiney tone to his mom's voice when he spoke, and he could practically see him pouting. The couch could be heard again as someone shifted.

"Yeah... Anyway, what we came here to say. Do you _actually_ think there will be an attack? I mean, I'm all for the kids training and the extra defenses Eduard set into place, but is it possible?"

"It may be so. They were too insistent on coming, and even their methods were... to say the least, suspicious." Mathias scoffed.

"They were assholes, and I don't fucking like the way they look at the kids here, as if they're the solution to all their problems. Part of me wants to keep Emil at home until they leave, like Romulus did with Feliciano." One of the seats shifted and the sound of someone pacing could be heard.

Matthew retreated deeper into the hall to keep from being seen.

"I'm sure they'll be gone soon. Romulus won't let them stay much longer, and Alaric won't be able to object to that." They all made sounds of agreement, before Mathias spoke up again.

"I've been thinking-" the sound of steps stopped abruptly.

"L'rd help 's."

"Shut up, Berwald. Anyway," he paused for a moment as if trying to find a way to voice his sentiments. "You don't think... there's a connection, do you?"

"A connection?" Tino said it slowly, from his tone, he knew full well what he meant.

"Between Lovino, Matthew, and the visit-" His mom cut him off. His voice sounded strained, as if trying his best not to let his anger show.

"What are you implying, Mathias? Be very careful, because if you're saying my son is the root of the possible attack, I won't hesitate to-" A crashing sound made Matthew jump and let out a small squeak in surprise.

"It can't just be a fucking coincidence, Tino. They show up, Yao disappears, and all of a sudden we lose sight of the future and men come knocking on our door? They have to be involved in some way."

"Tino, calm down. He's just being an imbecile, as per usual." Another loud crash.

"Damn it, Lukas! Don't speak for me! You know damn well I'm being completely _fucking_ serious. If you want to fight me for being cautious, fine. I'm not scared of you, and I won't change my mind about this." His voice when addressing his lover showed more anger than when he turned to address Tino, but it still held enough venom to sting.

"Sh't up, Mathi's," it came out as more of a growl than anything else. He heard the couch creak again as it was relieved of the weight of two people.

Matthew felt himself wanting to jump out and stop them. Maybe he was connected to the problem, even he didn't know, but he certainly didn't want his mom, dad and uncle fighting over it; Or even worse, Lukas and Mathias. Enough people had fought because of him today, and he couldn't take the guilt.

"I'm not scared of you, either. You may be stronger than me, but I outnumber you. Believe me when I say that I'll be a bigger threat to you than they'll ever be." More than one voice spoke this mom had displayed his powers much in the same way animals make themselves look bigger to ward off predators, and Mathias _was_ one of the stronger heroes.

"Tino, please calm down. You know Mathias says stupid things," a heavy weight was placed on the couch again, with a grunt of confirmation. "If Berwald and I had let it affect us, he'd have been long dead. You should also take into consideration Tino's feelings about this. You'd have felt the same way, reacted even worse, if someone had accused Emil of the same thing," Lukas said, keeping his cool.

"Ya woulda k'lled 'em the moment they s'ggested it," Berwald specified, calmer now that he had realized the truth behind Lukas's words.

"Exactly, now sit down. Both of you."

"Forget it. There's nothing more to talk about."

"Mathias-" The door opened and slammed shut with a force he was surprised to find didn't send it crashing down.

"I's fine, i's late. Ya should go h'me. G't some sleep. Ya st'll got yer report t' write."

"I suppose that's true... thank you for having us. Please don't take anything he said to heart, Tino. Good night," the door opened and closed again with an almost inaudible click.

"'re ya ok'y?"

"I'm fine. I'm going to go to bed," his mom was back to a single person, and he sounded exhausted. Matthew realized a moment too late that he was going his way.

"Mattie. W-what are you doing- wait! Where are you going?! Matthew, it's late!" Seeing his mom in front of him made everything real. Everything they had said, and he was going to confront Lovino about it.

He sidestepped his mom and walked straight out the door past his dad.

"M'ttie!"

Matthew didn't knock when he arrived at the Founder's house. He slipped through the door, up the stairs and into Lovino's room, making sure to keep his form from being seen until he stepped into the room.

On his way there he had thought over everything the others had said. That he had been trying to provoke him. That he had been so mean to him because he didn't think he would get the nerve to fight otherwise. That he had known what was going on, and had helped Gilbert train the kids, and instead of telling him, had taken it upon himself to nearly ruin their friendship. He knew himself too well to know he would have never fought back, so when he arrived, all the thoughts circling in his head had turned into a storm of anger and indignation.

Lovino was still awake when Matthew arrived, laying down with an armed draped over his face as if he were deep in thought, but he was up as soon as Matthew arrived.

"What the fuck?! You scared the shit out of me. Who the hell said you could-" Matthew, now completely visible, marched up to him and sent a fist crashing against Lovino's left cheek. The boy landed against his dresser before he steadied himself, lip bleeding. He looked up at Matthew clearly shocked, before he became angry.

He attempted to return Matthew's strike, but went right through, losing his footing and landing against a bookshelf. It came as a bit of a shock. Matthew had never used his powers against him, and he hadn't used his against Matthew, not intentionally, he thought, as he remembered accidentally burning the boy the night they escaped the restricted section.

He turned to find that Matthew didn't look like he was going to strike again, in fact, tears were running down his face, full of anger and frustration.

"You're- You're an... an asshole! An absolute, _fucking_ bastard, Lovino! How could you- why would you- who do you think you are!? What makes you think you know what's best for me!? How could you lie to me? You were my closest friend! You were all I really had..." Matthew grew quiet and sat himself on the bed, hunched over, head in his hands.

Lovino ignored the newly forming bruises and slowly approached him. Their plan had worked, in a sense, but only because Matthew had figured out that there was a plan. He wasn't prepared to deal with this kind of situation, and just as he was about to say something, the door was thrown open to reveal a very awake and worried Gilbert.

Shit, Lovino thought. Fuel to the fire.

Matthew looked up with a start before his face became angry. "You! You told him to do this didn't you!? Lovino wouldn't think of doing this to me! Why would you- I trusted you- I _liked_ you. Did you get some sort of kick out of it!?"

"It was for your own goo-" a hard slap knocked Gilbert's head to the side. His face was stoic, jaw clenched, as he slowly turned back to the angry boy in front of him.

"Don't you tell me it was for my own good! I almost lost my closest friend, I had to hang out with Alfred and his friends. Do you know how awful that was?! They're so careless, I would have died if I didn't have the ability I do! In one of their fights one of them nearly froze me solid!" Soft laughter from behind him had Matthew turning back, bemused. Lovino was hunched over, shaking with poorly disguised laughter.

"You really are hopeless, Mattie," he said between breaths.

Matthew blushed, turning his full attention to him. "I-it's not funny! It was horrifying! I saw my entire life flash before my eyes!"

"Your whole six plus months?" Lovino asked, not even trying to hide his laughter anymore. Behind him, Gilbert gave a small chuckle as well, stepping fully into the room and closing the door, but not before waving someone off.

Soon, even Matthew was joining in the laughter. "I kept making up excuses after that. I said I had a lot of homework, or that I was really tired. I told mom and dad what had happened and they would help, too.

"One time I was sitting next to dad in the living room when Alfred came home and mom ran in to tell me. Alfred asked dad where I was and he said he hadn't seen me, even though I was right next to him." He broke into a fit of giggles, and plopped himself onto Lovino's bed. Lovino and Gilbert joined him.

"Mattie, I'm really sorry. I was- we both were really scared that something could happen to you, and, to be fair, it worked." Matthew scoffed.

"Only because I heard my parents and uncles talking about it. By the way, Gil, I think they know you're training the kids." Gilbert groaned, glaring at his hands.

"Well, fuck. I guess it was kind of suspicious, wasn't it?" Matthew laughed and nodded, long curls bouncing as he did.

"Were they at least okay with it?"

"They all seemed to think it was a good idea, actually."

"Fuck yeah, it was." He grinned widely at their indirect approval, and sat a little straighter, pride showing in the way he was now holding himself.

"Now you don't have to worry about Peter telling on you," Lovino cackled, flopping back onto the bed, and Gilbert's shoulders sagged as a scowl adorned his face. He smacked the boy's leg as he continued to giggle away.

"What?" Matthew asked, smiling down at Lovino. He missed being like this, but- they never were completely like this. It was nicer.

"Peter threatened to tell Berwald and Tino what I was doing if you guys didn't make up in a week," he said, rubbing the back of his neck.

Matthew gave a light laugh, clearly amused by the fact that Gilbert had been threatened by his little brother.

"Bastard was so scared he spent twenty minutes convincing him not to say anything." Lovino sat back up with a small noise of exertion.

"Hey, my awesomeness wasn't scared-"

"Yeah, right." All three sat, basking in the lighthearted air, before Gilbert spoke up again.

"So, guys," he said in a devious tone, placing an arm around each of the two boys. Lovino stared at it with a sort of playful repulsion, while Matthew watched him curiously. "Since we're already on a bed-" Lovino made a sound of indignation and shoved the laughing man onto the ground.

"Get out of my room, bastard!" Matthew laughed as he got onto his knees, dusting himself off with something that sounded like "worth a try," to which Lovino kicked him back over for good measure.

"What I'd like to know is what he's doing in your room to begin with." All three boys stood quickly as they saw Romulus and Alaric standing at the door.

"I was-"

"He came for the same reason that you're probably here, sir," Lovino interjected, knowing anything Gilbert would have said wouldn't have been believed, judging from the way Romulus was looking at him.

"Fine. You can go now, Gilbert."

"Yeah, goodnight," he gave a final wave to the two boys before he stepped out the door.

"I'm going to assume that the same thing that caused all that noise was what split your lip, Lovino?" His voice had softened slightly.

"W-well-"

"It was me. I'm sorry, I was angry, and I hit Lovino, and I think I broke your bookshelf..." Everyone turned to the furniture in question, where one of the shelves had fallen against another and had sent books crashing against the floor.

Alaric raised a brow, obviously aware of Matthew's temperament and having a hard time believing he had done it, but Romulus didn't seem to care, upset that Lovino had lied to him twice already that day.

"We can't keep excusing your actions. You've caused enough trouble today, Lovino, and now Matthew, too. I hope this will be the last time I have to warn you, because the next time you will be punished." Alaric was about to object, but before he could, Romulus turned and left them alone. With a final glance to the two boys he trailed after Romulus. He had upset him enough to want to undermine his authority again.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to get you into trouble, Lovi," Matthew was looking down at his clasped hands, his voice soft.

"Nah, it's fine. Romulus is always scolding me for one thing or another. Are you staying over or are you going home?"

"O-oh, um... well I left kind of abruptly, and it's pretty late, so I guess I should go home..."

"Oh- yeah, okay. I'll just-" Matthew grabbed his hand and tugged him along with him.

"Well? C'mon, we're going home. I don't think they'll mind too much," Matthew sent him a small smile as Lovino grinned widely.

"Yeah." Matthew peeked out of the room for any sign of people before he pulled Lovino out with him. As the two bounded down the stairs, they were stopped by Gilbert.

"Sneaking out? Tsk tsk. Weren't you just scolded?"

"So were you, bastard," Gilbert inclined his head, and crossed his arms.

"Yes, but my awesomeness can't be contained by rules. Anyway, Mattie, if you wanna come with Lovi and I to train the kids tomorrow you can."

"Thanks, it sounds fun. Ah... your cheek," he gently touched the red swollen spot where he had struck him. It was more profound on his pale skin than the bruising was on Lovino's olive skin. "I'm sorry." Gilbert dropped his arms, and head as he addressed Matthew, none of the playful arrogance he had when he dealt with Lovino present.

"Oh, that? Nah, it's nothing. My awesome self will heal in no time, but you can kiss it better if you wan-" Gilbert was cut off as Matthew leaned in and gave the inflamed skin a light peck before he scurried down the rest of the steps.

Gilbert cleared his throat and looked away as his cheeks were stained a brighter red than the injury. Lovino was still standing in the same spot, at first shocked, but now regarding Gilbert with a cheeky smile. The man glared at him and turned, heading back to his own room after muttering a quick "good night."

"C'mon, Lovi. Oh! I forgot. You wanna see a new trick I learned today?"

* * *

 **I finished a new chapter :D! okay... _technically_ this was done about a week ago, but you should know by now how I feel about editing... ANYWAY~ Lovi and Mattie made up~, of course, I wasn't planning to drag out their conflict, as it's not the main conflict of the story and would have kinda pulled the story away from that~. Also! A little bit of Grandpa Rome's perspective, yay :D! He cares about Lovino, just, you know, tough love. He's starting to warm up to him, but, I mean, who wouldn't? He's so precious XD. Ack, I keep getting distracted. Anyway! New superhero/superpower in the form of Katyusha! I think that was it? I SWEAR I was going to post this earlier, but I got distracted by homework and Eyewitness, omg guys it's so gay and intense, and my mom was there while I was watching it and she was like "For fuck's sake, is this why you wanted to watch it?" It was funny XD. Ack, I keep getting distracted XD. I was going to say something else.. concerningsomething that happened in the story... Oh well~.**

 **Superpowers:**

 **Kiku Honda Age 18: Mimicry, power enhancement**

 **Emil Steilsson Age 18: Weather manipulation, superhuman speed, stamina, and reflexes, levitation**

 **Nikel Anderson (Luxembourg) Age 10: Amalgamation ( the ability to fuse things with one's self or each other)**

 **Leopold Edelstein (Kugelmugel) Age 8: hard light constructs, superhuman agility and reflexes**

 **Marcello Vargas (Seborga) Age 12: atomic manipulation**

 **Wendy Kirkland (Wy) Age 11:telepathy, telekinesis, psionic blasts**

 **Lili Zwingli Age 12: animal communication, superhuman endurance, agility, and reflexes**

 **Peter Kirkland Age 12: Shapeshifting, superhuman endurance, reflexes, and agility**

 **Elizabeta Héderváry Age 29: nature manipulation**

 **Matthew Williams Age 17: Invisibility, teleportation, intangibility**

 **Mathias Køhler Age 32: forcefield generation, energy blasts, superhuman strength and endurance**

 **Berwald Oxenstierna Age 32: Adamantine body armor, absorption, superhuman strength, endurance, and reflexes**

 **Lukas Bondevik Age 32: Astral projection, summoning, telepathy, energy blasts**

 **Tino Vainamoinen Age 30: duplication, echolocation, superhuman reflexes and agility, healing factor**

 **Alfred F. Jones Age 17: Superhuman strength, agility, endurance, stamina**

 **Feliciano Vargas Age 18: Superspeed, healing factor, superhuman stamina**

 **Francis Bonnefoy Age 27: illusion, possession, power neutralization**

 **Alaric Beilschmidt (Germania): superhuman strength, flight, telepathy, reduced aging**

 **Romulus Vargas (Ancient Rome): Superhuman strength and endurance, flight, reduced aging**

 **Lovino Vargas Age 18: Fire and heat manipulation, infrared vision**

 **Antonio Fernandez Carriedo Age 26: animal communication, animal morphing, enhanced senses**

 **Leon Wang (Hong Kong) Age 18: portal creation, superhuman speed, agility, and strength**

 **Ludwig Beilschmidt Age 17: elemental transmutation, superhuman endurance and strength**

 **Gilbert Beilschmidt Age 27: disintegration, superhuman endurance, agility, and stamina**

 **Eduard Von Bock Age 28: superhuman tracking, technopathy, electric manipulation**

 **Bella Anderson Age 26: Animation, superhuman strength, reflexes, agility**

 **Katyusha Braginskya Age 25: Healing, superhumanly acrobatic, plant manipulation**

 **Reviews:**

Red-Hot Habanero:Yup~. I guess you can kinda see why Lovino was so upset XD. Dumb reason, but if all my characters were smart enough to sense the mood I wouldn't have much of a story XD. I dunno, I don't think Antonio has completely come to terms with the fact that he was jealous, or for what reason, but he did know that seeing the two of them so close made him feel a little put off? But, yeah :D. yes :D! I dunno when, or why I did it, but I realized that at some point I had turned their relationship into a sibling-ish kind of thing XD. I like it, though :D. Oh, and don't worry, his wrist is totally fine now :D!

It's not a problem at all :D! It makes my day seeing your reviews~. Thank you so much for taking the time to :D. You ask good questions so I'm more than happy to answer :D. Thanks! It's running a little long, so I split it into two chapters :0, but it's still going to be on the chapter after the next one :D, so almost there!

 **Alrighty, so, it's hella late and I need to sleep, so gnight, day, evening, I dunno what time you're reading this, but thanks for reading, reviewing, following,favorite-ing, and stuff :D!**


	14. Chapter 14

A month passed, among several other things.

The first, was that Matthew and Lovino had become absolutely inseparable, and to a smaller extent the two boys and Gilbert. They had even gone to train the kids together, and once the week Peter had given Gilbert had expired with, apparently, no sign of Lovino making up to the boy, he began to throw a fit, crying, shouting, and cursing Gilbert to the high heavens, before letting out a horrified scream when something grabbed him from behind and pulled him into a tight hug.

Once he saw it was Matthew, he began to cry again, clinging to the boy, while Lovino and Gilbert stood by. Once it was said and done, Peter denied he had done any of those humiliating things, stating that he was going to be a captain, and captains didn't act in such a way, much to the older boys' amusement. After that, Matthew would frequently visit the kids with the others and watch as they trained.

He had begun training, as well, and was a decent fighter, if only because the other two couldn't hit him. He, on the other hand, _had_ been able to hit them, and Alfred, and everyone else he had trained with, even if he always apologized afterwards.

The second thing that happened was that the whole island had come to life in anticipation of the Tournament, less than a month away. Those that had fulfilled all of the qualifications were constantly training in the arena, trying to get a feel for what it would be like. Tensions were high as those competing tried to analyze every opponent they could be placed against, much to the others' dismay. Along with that teams and pairs were beginning to form.

A competitor had the chance to prove themself up to three times. They could compete in the solo matches, the partner matches, and/or the team matches, although usually, it was only those that aimed for a spot as captain that would compete in the solo matches. Once the founders and heroes had chosen those who they thought were ready, captains were chosen and for the next few weeks would be taught how to fly the academy craft, protocol for different situations, and how to organize and write reports in detail.

It was a tiresome task, but one of great honor, and very hard to obtain. Romulus and Alaric were the ones who chose who got to become a captain, which meant that if you were a captain, you did something amazing enough to impress them. Matthias, Berwald and Lukas were captains, as were Antonio and Gilbert, or, at least, he had been. Arthur was a captain, too, but he usually went on solo assignments, which made him all the more remarkable.

Most heroes, captain or not, went on pair, or team assignments because of the difficult tasks they were assigned. Going solo on almost every one and coming back whole was something only the founders, Yao, and the first generation of heroes had ever done. Sometimes Lovino thought it was him trying to make up for his brothers leaving. The Academy would have had a better amount of heroes if they hadn't left; Top notch heroes from what he had heard.

The Kirklands were unstoppable when together, although Arthur never really got to fight with them. They cleared missions in record time, despite their usual distractions, and usually gave the academy a good name with the humans. They were powerful, and their abilities had a very wide range; Anywhere from the strength and power Allistor possessed, to the control over the mind that Dylan had. Amongst the humans, and even some mutants, they were icons, someone to look up to, someone kids fervently discussed at school with dramatic and expressive gestures. They were given gifts and trophies to commemorate them in several countries, and one day, for all the humans knew, they disappeared.

Gilbert had heard rumors the humans had started about how they had died fighting the strongest enemy imagineable and taking it down with them, or how they were clearly robots created by the government to stop their escaped experiments, and one even told of how they had turned and now _they_ were the ones that sent out all the villains and monsters that his brother now fought against, although that theory wasn't very popular, people still had a lot of fun with it, and a comic of it was even serialized.

In any sense, Arthur had a lot to live up to, and it seemed to him that he had been trying to do it all on his own. He was one of the more recognizable heroes now, and, because of the comics, people had the tendency to cheer him on as he battled 'his brothers' creations,' but he wasn't nearly as popular as them and he was now the only representative of the main Kirkland family. Jett Kirkland, a distant relation, was due to compete in the tournament, but the two had cut ties a while back.

The third thing that happened was the arrival of three new mutants. One was another distant relation of Arthur: Liam Kirkland. When his abilities had been awakened, he had awoken late at night to the shrill cries, and fierce roars of several animals, only to find that they surrounded his home, and that he understood them perfectly. Romulus had Arthur and Antonio there in a matter of hours.

He would be working with Antonio and Gilbert to catch up and be able to compete in the tournament, seeing as they shared an ability, and would not be attending the superhuman courses, which didn't matter, as they only had one more week worth of lessons before they were canceled so that the competitors could train. He would not attend any of the academic courses, either, as he had already passed all the courses at a human school.

The second new mutant didn't have to worry about training. He was only 10, and shared Berwald's surname, which was why Alaric had sent Berwald and Tino to pick him up. They found him after an entire city experienced a seemingly irreversible blackout. It took an entire week for news to reach the founders, in which no electronics worked in the city, no matter how hard the electric companies worked. School was canceled, traffic was horrible, and food in homes, supermarkets, and restaurants went bad. A good portion of the city left before he was picked up.

Erland Oxenstierna was fiercely independent and, at first, had rejected nearly all of Berwald and Tino's attempts to feel more welcome, although he did seem to have taken as much of a liking as he could to Peter. Even Gilbert didn't know what to make of him, so they usually left Peter to be the midway between the two parties, whether they be Berwald and Tino, or Gilbert, Lovino, and Matthew. He slowly came to enjoy the former's visits, however, according to Peter. He had said that his eyes would light up whenever they came for a visit, and once he had accidentally called Berwald 'dad' much to his utter horror, and Tino and Peter's amusement. Berwald was shocked, for the most part, but the two quickly bonded after that, even if Erland was too stubborn to admit it.

The third was a young woman who was also of age and academic standing to compete in the tournament and who would be training with Lars to get a firm grasp on her abilities, or as much as she could.

Lucille Mérimée's powers had awakened at a very lucky time, in a sense. She had apparently been deep in thought and had crossed the street at the wrong moment. As a car approached, the stress of the situation had awakened her abilities, causing the car to swerve, barely missing and collide with others, as had happened to every vehicle that came close to hurting her, until there was wreckage all around her, but that wasn't what caught the founders' attention. It was simply a stroke of luck to them, and to her.

In weeks following, her luck would always be either extremely good, or bad until she steadily became more daring, whether it be stepping in front of a armed man in the middle of a robbery and having his gun fail him as he went to shoot, saving a woman from a speeding vehicle, and narrowly avoiding death, to her most extreme case of jumping into a lion enclosure to save a young girl who had wandered in, only for it to die on the spot from heart failure. Her actions caught the attention of several news reporters, and eventually the founders, who decided to invite her, despite the fact that there was nothing very extraordinary about her abilities. In fact, had it not been for her heroic use of them, she wouldn't have been looked at twice. It was a strange ability, as every ounce of good luck was neutralized by bad, either directed at her, or not, and the founders decided it was a subconscious telekinetic probability manipulation. It wasn't to the extent that Lars could manipulate things, but she did always have a favored outcome in a fight, so Tino was also training her in hand to hand combat and firearms.

As her training went on longer, it seemed that she developed a new tactical skill. She had yet to lose a spar, having already seen the outcome of every possible move she could make and choosing a clear path to victory. The founders had called it accelerated probability, and there was a rumor that she was already being considered as a possible captain, if not for her abilities, then for her boldness.

The final thing that happened, and probably the strangest, was that the humans left. No other word than a 'thank you' was uttered as they departed. Nothing to inform the founders of their intended purpose for the visit, or what they planned to do with the information they had gained.

It was... anticlimactic, and left a bad taste in everyone's mouth, but was also a weight off of their chest. Alaric seemed the most shocked, as he had been nearly certain that they would have at least stayed for the tournament, with all that they asked, and their eagerness to see the display of powers, but he didn't complain or ask them to stay longer.

Gilbert called an end to training the kids, much to Francis's relief and Antonio's disappointment, and Romulus was steadily going back to his old, carefree self, even beginning to joke around with Alaric more. The only thing that hadn't changed was that Yao still wasn't back.

It seemed that that was a crucial thing to most of the students, as he never went on assignment for more than two months, now it was slowly approaching seven. Leon and Kiku both appeared a little more agitated than they usually let on, and even Young Soo's cheery attitude had holes in it. Neither Matthew nor Lovino saw enough of Lien or Mei to register their thoughts, but they assumed they were probably as worried as the boys.

When they had approached the founders about it, Romulus appeared as lost as they were, while Alaric simply said that he'd be back when it was all over, although they didn't understand what he had meant. With the tournament approaching, however, they didn't have time to try.

Lovino and Matthew, unlike everyone else, didn't train as much, or as seriously. Most of the other competitors had been wanting to become heroes all of their lives; the two boys had only know about it for a few months. They _had_ been very excited about it at first, but it quickly died down when they realized that they didn't really have a proper team to do missions if they _did_ pass, and neither of them was exactly captain material.

Despite Gilbert's encouragement, and his attempts to drag them out to train seriously on a daily basis, the two were currently lounging in Matthew's home, mindlessly flipping through the channels on the TV.

"Hey!" the two boys sat up abruptly, only to find Tino watching them with an impatient look.

"Y-yes?" Matthew answered, sharing a confused glance with Lovino.

"Why aren't you training with the others?! You're running out of time!" Lovino slouched back onto the couch, while Matthew began to fidgit.

"Well, we don't really... I mean, everyone-"

"We can't train with each other" Lovino answered matter-of-factly. At Tino's questioning gaze he explained.

"Mattie's invisibility is useless against me, I can see him, and my fire is useless against him, I can't touch him. We always end up at a dead end, and ... it's not like we really know anybody to begin with..." It was true, a large part of why they were inside was that the felt like outsiders. Everybody was having fun training, goofing off, talking about how great it would be to see the world and be admired by the humans and about past tournaments, and the two boys couldn't have felt more left out.

At the moment, Alfred, not understanding the situation, and not caring to, was upset with Matthew, and absolutely enraged with Lovino. Matthew had tried explaining to him what had happened, but all he heard was Gilbert's name and another person to blame. Gilbert was off training the new arrivals, along with Antonio, and Feliciano was off with Ludwig, effectively eliminating every possible sparing partner.

Tino watched the two boys, humming in understanding. "You know, " he said, drawing their attention. "I was one of the older ones to arrive on the island. I think I was sixteen. It doesn't sound like much today, but back then almost everyone knew each other, they had been here since they were born, or anywhere between three and five years of age." Tino plopped himself down on the couch beside them. Both boys were staring on with interest.

"You didn't know anyone?" Matthew glanced at Lovino.

"Not a single person."

"Were you scared?"

"I was horrified!" he said with a light laugh. "Everyone was fighting each other and the power they all had was incredible! I honestly thought that I would die here. I avoided everyone because I was scared I would upset someone enough for them to harm me."

"So, how'd you start meeting people?"

"... I accidentally crashed into your dad and started crying," he placed his head in his hands to cover up the spreading pink blush. Lovino and Matthew stared at the man, testing to see if he had been serious, but when he didn't move his hands from his face, they couldn't help but laugh.

"Don't laugh at me! He looked intimidating and I was new and I didn't know him and I was stressed out!" The two boys steadied themselves, bringing their laughter back to a few giggles, before they cleared their throats, the only trace of their amusement being a wide grin.

"Sorry, mom. So, what happened next?" Matthew let out a small laugh again, which was quickly squashed by a playful glare. He mouthed a small 'sorry' and let Tino continue.

"Lukas and Mathias came over to see what had happened to make the new kid burst into tears in the middle of a hall... But then Lukas helped me calm down, and told me Berwald wouldn't hurt me and introduced himself, Berwald and Mathias. They invited me to sit with them and we slowly grew to know each other more. I think that was about a month into the time I had arrived."

"Didn't you ever feel left out? I mean... they all knew each other." Matthew remembered his time with Alfred's friends and training with Leon and Kiku. He remembered wishing he could have been as close to them as they were to each other. He looked over to Lovino, who had shut off the TV and had tucked his legs close to him sometime amidst the story.

"Of course I did. Mathias and Berwald were here since birth, and had known each other the longest, and Lukas came three years before I had, and had even dated Berwald for a while..."

"No way-"

"Seriously? That must have killed you!" Both boys leaned in, completely distracted from their earlier troubles.

"It's not like they were dating when I got here." Tino puffed his cheeks childishly and sent them a soft glare.

"How did you... you know, get over it?"

"Lukas figured that it had bothered me a bit after we started dating, so he pulled me aside and started talking to me. It's funny, I didn't think he liked me much when I first got here, but I think it was the other way around... After that we got along a lot better, I really like Lukas now. He's like a brother to me." He shifted a strand of hair away from his face as he smiled distantly down at his hands. It wasn't a happy smile, the two noted. It was almost ironic, as if he were still upset about it all, and yet, his eyes still shone as he talked about his relationship with Lukas.

"Mom?" Matthew gently grabbed Tino's hand.

"Oh! Right, sorry. I guess I got distracted! Moral of the story! You'll make friends eventually." Tino gently pat their hands and stood to walk away, but turned almost as soon as he had begun to leave.

"Hey! Why don't you train with me?"

"With you? ...Mom, are you sure?"

"Of course! I can only sense you when I speak," he said to Matthew, then turned to Lovino "and I'm a long range fighter, too!"

"I don't think I'm okay with having you shoot at me, and don't you have a reputation for never missing?" The brunette boy turned to Matthew with a look that begged for help.

"Mom, I really don't-"

"Don't be silly, they wouldn't be _real_ bullets. They'd be the training ones, the ones that they use in the Tournament." At the confused look the two boys gave each other, Tino held up a finger and ran out of the room, or, at least one of him did. He came back with twin pistols, and opened the cartilage, exposing clear bullets, with vein-like lights running through them.

"Watch," he shot at the wall opposite themselves They braced themselves, but were shocked to find that the bullet collided with more of a 'splat.' Tino made his way over to it, peeling, the now flat and green, bullet from it.

"See? It's soft. I guess it melts, in a way, with the speed and changes color on impact. If it hits something nonhuman, it turns green, if it strikes a target, it turns red. When they use them in the Tournament they'll lock them into the computer so that they can keep track of all the hits misses and whether it would have been a fatal hit. They also have something to temporarily distort the nerves so that limb can't be used anymore for the duration of the fight, but I don't have access to that." That was a relief to Lovino, but the odds still weren't exactly in his favor.

"But you still don't miss," Lovino quipped. It being his concern, as Matthew would probably be fighting him hand to hand.

"You can learn to work together!" Tino said, with a look of determination in his eyes that was hard to refuse. The two boys nodded hesitantly.

* * *

They were in the arena in a matter of seconds, thanks to Matthew, surrounded by dozens of training competitors. Tino formed two copies and sent one a few feet away, Lovino's opponent, as the other got into a fighting stance in front of Matthew. The boy did the same, although much more unsure. Once the original had seated himself in the stands, all four began to fight.

Matthew found himself busy, ensuring that nothing hit Lovino, and warding off his own opponent, but sensing his troubles, Lovino sent off a small beast to help Matthew corner him as he hurled flames in Tino's direction as he steadily advanced. Seeing as it didn't work, Lovino began to attack Matthew's copy, while Matthew appeared behind Lovino's, disarming him, and fighting hand to hand. The man dodged, but quickly grew concerned, as that was all he could do.

Moments later, Lovino and Matthew had them cornered, guns abandoned a few feet away. The copies sent them a mischievous smile as they multiplied further, much to their dismay. Each boy faced off against four different opponents, dodging, hitting, and always on high alert.

When one finally picked up the gun and shot, Lovino reacted on instinct and grabbed another to use him to block. He was startled by his own reaction, but after recalling months of training with Gilbert, he didn't think it all too strange. The copy quickly receded when it was struck on the chest by three bullets, leaving Lovino with three, then two when Lovino surrounded the perpetrator in flames.

Matthew wasn't so lucky, still struggling with all four, as he was more of a defensive fighter. Noting his predicament, Lovino pushed his opponents back as the fire surrounding him spread, and quickly made his way to the gun, tossing it to Matthew, only to be attacked again mere moments later by his two remaining opponents. The boy fumbled, before getting a good grip, but was unfamiliar with how to use the weapon.

"You can't use a gun at such a close range, Mattie! Get further!" The original yelled from the stands, the excitement clear in his tone.

Matthew gave a small nod, and appeared a good enough distance for him to have time to shoot and to have a greater chance of a hit. It took a moment for the copies to notice, in which Matthew had fired five times. Two hit one of his own targets, another had struck another one of his targets, one accidentally strayed, but managed to hit one of Lovino's opponents, and one collided with the ground just beside Lovino's leg.

The boy looked up horrified, but had no time to curse at his friend before he was attacked by all three of the remaining copies. Lovino caged them in his flames, and quickly stepped out. The walls thickened, until they barely had enough room to move as Matthew approached, a gun in each of his hands. They began sweating profusely, and looked around frantically for a means of escape. There was little room for Matthew to miss this time; Tino was also approaching, sensing the end of the fight.

One shot rung out, one copy receded. Another shot, another receded. A final shot, and the flames collapsed on empty space and vanished. Tino was clapping excitedly as he approached, an evident bounce in his step.

"That was amazing! You two are fantastic! You make such a great team!" Around them, the arena had gone quiet, having witnessed two competitors defeat one of the Nordics. In any other case, Matthew would have gone a furious shade of red at the attention, and Lovino would have started yelling, attracting more attention, but quite frankly, both boys were exhausted. It was a wonder to them how Tino could stay standing after all that fighting, indirect or not, but then they realized that he _was_ a superhuman, stamina and all.

Meanwhile, Lovino could feel his legs, forearms, stomach, and face begin to bruise from all the attacks the copies made, their Academy issued uniform having absorbed most of the flame's heat in their quick strikes. Matthew was slightly better, but spent most of his time dodging because everytime he would try to manifest himself for a hit, one of the copies was ready to deal one back.

Maybe just competing in a partner match would be fine, they thought, as they began to walk home; no more strength left in Matthew to send them home the fast way. It was a pain, especially with a few people asking them if they wanted to train with them, to which Lovino responded with a weak 'fuck off-' maybe that's why they didn't have any friends, Matthew thought, but he couldn't be bothered. He was tired. They were almost out of the arena when a painfully familiar voice called out to them.

Feliciano came jogging up to them, dragging Ludwig with him. "Lovi! That was so cool! Ve, don't you think so, Ludwig? You should join our team!" Feliciano said, clinging to Ludwig's arm, and using it to help him stay on his toes as he searched the arena for something.

"Alfred! C'mere!" The boy in question was approaching, hands tucked in his pockets in a way that made him come off as uninterested. Lovino tensed at the sight of him, to which Matthew sent him a small, reassuring smile.

"Ve, let's invite them to join our team! Please," Feliciano stared up at him with wide eyes, the same expression he had used to convince Alfred to help him break the boys out. Alfred decided he wasn't going to give in this time. Sure his mom even overpowered _him_ the few times he trained with him, but Lovino and Matthew only got by on the fact that nobody could touch them, not skill.

"N-"

"Consider it, Alfred. It would be the reasonable thing to do. Whether it's simply luck or not, some heroes thrive on luck," all five turned to Lucille, who been fighting against Lars, but was now talking to Tino about their schedule.

Kiku was approaching them, looking wary at the sight of Lovino and Alfred so close to one another before he smiled at the two boys. "You did very well in your spar. We would be happy to have you on our team if you would join."

"And who says they can join?"

"We have not reached our limit in teammates, and it appears that you are outvoted, Alfred." The boy in question had nothing to say to that, even if he felt his pride begin to crumble at having his authority questioned. Ludwig was as much captain material as he was, meaning he couldn't even be _persuaded_ to change his mind.

"Fi-"

"Hold up, bastard. Nobody said we were fucking begging to be on your team, anyway. Because, believe it or not, we couldn't give a rat's ass about your team."

"Lovi-" Lovino turned to Feliciano, who was watching him, wide eyed.

"That's not going to work, Feli. Mattie and I are fine on our own- "

"Maybe we should give it a shot?" Lovino swung his attention to Matthew, shock and a bit of betrayal evident on his features. Matthew shook his head and gave him a nervous smile. "Neither of us really have what it takes to be a captain, and I think it would be fun to be part of a team. We could still do the partner match, too?"

Lovino considered it for a moment, looking around at the faces of his possible team. Feliciano had a pleading look, Ludwig was a wall, as always, Kiku gave them a polite smile that said he would be fine with any choice they made, and Alfred looked more than a little put off at the thought that someone had even rejected his offer, even if it was what he wanted. Finally, he turned to Matthew, who looked to be trying to hold back his excitement at the thought of being part of a team. With a defeated sigh, he let his shoulders sag.

"Fine. When do we train?"

"We will start training every morning at 10 on the dot. Do not be late. As well as that, yourself and Alfred will need to establish a better relationship in order to be compatible as a team. As for myself, I do not care about your insults, as long as you do not get sidetracked by your hatred for me."

" _Me_? _Hate you_? How do you figure?" Lovino spit sarcastically before waving them off as a show of agreement. "I'll get along with Alfred when he stops acting like a bitch." Alfred was about to lunge at the boy, only to be stopped by Ludwig.

"Lovino-"

"He should also apologize about my wrist, admit that I made Matthew a better fighter and take back that thing about me being a coward." Lovino crossed his arms and regarded Alfred with a smirk and an arched brow.

" _I'll_ get along with Lovino when he admits that being an asshole to Matthew wasn't what made him a good fighter, and he still hasn't formally apologized to him about all the shit he put him through." Lovino's confident gaze dropped at that. He slowly turned to Matthew to find him looking down at his feet as he began awkwardly digging into the dirt.

He had apologized, but Alfred was right. It wasn't about the way he had treated him, it was about his reason for treating him that way and lying to him. Looking back, he wasn't even really sure why Matthew was still willing to be his friend, or forgive him so easily.

"You're right," he said, barely above a whisper. Alfred was shocked at the admission, but quickly composed himself, and softened his stance. He looked between Matthew and Lovino. He wasn't mad at Matthew for making up with the boy, he was mad that he had forgiven him without an apology. He seemed to be letting himself be used and abused and he wasn't going to let him do that.

"He's my brother, Lovino. You could at least understand why I got so upset." Lovino nodded, and whispered a barely audible apology to him, then directed his attention to Matthew.

"I'm sorry-"

"Lovino you really don't have to-"

"No, but I do! I insulted you, I ignored you, and when you attacked me, with every right, I almost hit you back, but you always stuck around. You made it almost impossible to get rid of you, actually..." he said with a bitter laugh. "I made your life a living hell, and I left you alone and I'm so sorry. I don't know why you forgave me so easily, I don't know how you could. I was scared that you wouldn't. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, I didn't mean any of it."

Lovino was on the brink of tears as he remembered all of it. All the insults, all sad looks, all the times he had physically and emotionally pushed him away, allof it, and yet, here was Matthew, still with him. He couldn't understand it, but he was so glad it had turned out this way. Too caught up at the fact that he didn't want to look back, he forgot to apologize for everything he did. No wonder Alfred had been so upset. It was almost as if he didn't regret anything.

A sound of bell-like laughter made him look up with a shock. Matthew was... _laughing_. "Of _course_ you didn't mean any of it. All you've ever done, everything you've ever done has been for my benefit. I don't think I ever really believed you meant it, it just... hurt that you weren't by me. I didn't know what to do, and I got really lonely, but I couldn't fully believe that you had just gotten sick of me," he let out another melodious laugh. "Besides, Gilbert told me you cried the first time you insulted me, and that was enough of an apology for me." Lovino froze halfway through covertly wiping away his tears.

"No good son of a bitch-" Lovino was about ready to run off to find him, when he felt to arms envelop him. He looked up to find Matthew's head on his shoulder. The other four boys, who had been silent for the majority of their little exchange, looked uncomfortable, with the exception of Feliciano, who looked about ready to burst into tears from both joy and sorrow.

Matthew leaned in a little closer and whispered: "He also said you asked him what he thought of me." Lovino flinched and walked away from Matthew's hold. The boys on the sideline were startled by such a quick change in attitude.

"What are you trying to say, bastard?"

"That my best friend looks out for me, and by no means has any kind of attraction to me?"

"Damn fucking straight. I'm going home." Lovino stomped off, with Matthew laughing and running after him, their previous fatigue having vanished.

"Oh, c'mon, Lovi! I was teasing! Wait, I wanna know what he said! He wouldn't tell me!"

* * *

 **I think I'm getting better at this updating thing, but it's because the end is so close XD! Ugh, what the hell am I doing, introducing new characters? I am halfway through the story for fuck's sake. I couldn't help myself, though... Btw~ Liam Kirkland and Jett Kirkland are as closely related as me and that other dude in my anthropology with the same last name as me, in the way that we aren't, but we have the same last name XD. The Kirklands go way back, though, so it's normal that they have so many descendants in the AU~. Alaric's most popular and thriving offspring XD. Sorry, don't mind me XD. Oh, yeah, you won't see any of the teams training before the tournament, next chapter is hopping right to it. Sorry about all the time skips~. Like I may have said, the Tournament will be split into two chapters, the first will be told in Tino's perspective, and the second in the standard Lovi/Mattie disaster I usually use XD. Okay, so yeah~. I'm done!**

 **Superpowers:**

 **Kiku Honda Age 18: Mimicry, power enhancement**

 **Emil Steilsson Age 18: Weather manipulation, superhuman speed, stamina, and reflexes, levitation**

 **Nikel Anderson (Luxembourg) Age 10: Amalgamation ( the ability to fuse things with one's self or each other)**

 **Leopold Edelstein (Kugelmugel) Age 8: hard light constructs, superhuman agility and reflexes**

 **Marcello Vargas (Seborga) Age 12: atomic manipulation**

 **Wendy Kirkland (Wy) Age 11:telepathy, telekinesis, psionic blasts**

 **Lili Zwingli Age 12: animal communication, superhuman endurance, agility, and reflexes**

 **Peter Kirkland Age 12: Shapeshifting, superhuman endurance, reflexes, and agility**

 **Elizabeta Héderváry Age 29: nature manipulation**

 **Matthew Williams Age 17: Invisibility, teleportation, intangibility**

 **Mathias Køhler Age 32: forcefield generation, energy blasts, superhuman strength and endurance**

 **Berwald Oxenstierna Age 32: Adamantine body armor, absorption, superhuman strength, endurance, and reflexes**

 **Lukas Bondevik Age 32: Astral projection, summoning, telepathy, energy blasts**

 **Tino Vainamoinen Age 30: duplication, echolocation, superhuman reflexes and agility, healing factor**

 **Alfred F. Jones Age 17: Superhuman strength, agility, endurance, stamina**

 **Feliciano Vargas Age 18: Superspeed, healing factor, superhuman stamina**

 **Francis Bonnefoy Age 27: illusion, possession, power neutralization**

 **Alaric Beilschmidt (Germania): superhuman strength, flight, telepathy, reduced aging**

 **Romulus Vargas (Ancient Rome): Superhuman strength and endurance, flight, reduced aging**

 **Lovino Vargas Age 18: Fire and heat manipulation, infrared vision**

 **Antonio Fernandez Carriedo Age 26: animal communication, animal morphing, enhanced senses**

 **Leon Wang (Hong Kong) Age 18: portal creation, superhuman speed, agility, and strength**

 **Ludwig Beilschmidt Age 17: elemental transmutation, superhuman endurance and strength**

 **Gilbert Beilschmidt Age 27: disintegration, superhuman endurance, agility, and stamina**

 **Eduard Von Bock Age 28: superhuman tracking, technopathy, electric manipulation**

 **Bella Anderson Age 26: Animation, superhuman strength, reflexes, agility**

 **Katyusha Braginskya Age 25: Healing, Superhumanly acrobatic, plant manipulation**

 **Liam Kirkland Age 18: Animal communication, animal imitation (different from animal morphing in that one only takes on an ability of an animal, not its appearance)**

 **Erland Oxenstierna Age 10: Technopathy, superhuman senses (he's still young and awakened his powers later than a full blood mutant, so he might develop more on the way, but not now)**

 **Lucille Merimée Age 18: accelerated probability, subconscious telekinetic probability manipulation, superhuman agility**

 **Lars Anderson Age 28: probability manipulation, superhuman strength, speed, agility, and senses**

 **Reviews:**

Asdfghjkl (guest): Thank you so so much! I'm so glad you like it :D! I'm especially happy that you took the time to tell me what you think! Thank you so much :D!

Red-Hot Habanero: Totally XD. Don'tmess with Tino's babies XD. I kinda just left it that way because I didn't know what else Mattie would call him, but I'm glad you like it XD!

Yup! But when I had finished, I realized that Lovi hadn't really apologized for everything, so I put it into this chapter :D! It's all good now XD! Yeah XD no visions or clairvoyance, just very loud crashing and yelling XD.

I have the bad habit of hinting at things because I think I mention them before and forget that I know the whole story and the readers don't, so it's good to have questions and stuff that point out what I haven't made clear XD. So, thanks :D!

Three chapters! Give me three chapters and I'll tell you where he went! Maybe four... But I'll totally talk about it later!

Oh! Berwald and the other Nordics were SORTA held captives, but it was kinda more like to ensure that Tino would come back with an invitation to the academy; so when the men arrived on the island, the Nordics came back, too. I think in chapter 8 or something Mattie says something like "Mom and Dad are back!" Which is when they, as in all the Nordics, came back :D.

 **Thank you so much for reading, reviewing, and all that stuff I usually say~! Keep doing it and stuff :D!**


	15. Chapter 15

Families, heroes, alumni, and even the kids had shown up on the day of the Tournament. Each one filled the hundreds of seats in the colosseum, the heroes and founders taking the seats closest to the action.

They would be the ones to decide who would pass, who would fail, and who would become captains. Alaric and Romulus sat at the center with the captains on one side, and the other heroes on the other. Between them, where Yao usually sat, they had situated Katyusha.

Tino, as the only Nordic that wasn't a captain, was pleasantly chatting with Francis and Roderich, sending an occasional small smile to his teammates. The matches had already been decided and were laid out in front of them, along with a full profile of the heroes that would compete. It wouldn't be long now, before the matches had begun. The first match would be the solo match, otherwise known as the captain's match. Here, Alfred, Ivan, Ludwig, Lucille, Natalya, Lien, Jett and Heracles would be competing.

Unlike the training matches for classes, heroes weren't matched to an equal, instead they were chosen at random, putting them in unfavorable situations most times to see how they would be able to endure. A competitor's resourcefulness, skill, and quick thinking would be evaluated. After the match had ended Katyusha, usually along with Yao, would inspect the damage of each competitor, and give a full report of injuries that their abilities could cause.

The audience quieted down as Gilbert began to speak.

"Alright, now that you've all shut up and can hear my awesome self, the first match of the solo fights will be my slightly less awesome brother, Ludwig Beilschmidt against- oh... Natalya Arlovskaya. Tough shit, Luddy." Alaric elbowed him lightly and shook his head, reminding him to stick to the script.

Tino let out a small sigh of relief. He would have dreaded having Natalya go up against Alfred. Not that Alfred was a bad fighter, he was just too... abrupt in his actions, and against Natalya, that could be dangerous. Of course he was worried about Ludwig, too, but Ludwig was calculating, cunning, and quickly able to pry apart his opponents skills, strengths, and weaknesses.

Ludwig entered from the southern entrance of the arena, sending Gilbert an annoyed glare as he stopped at the center. Natalya entered from the northern side, completely uncaring. Her hair had been tied back in a long braid to keep it out of the way.

"Competitors, shake hands." The two met in the center and gave a short handshake. "Get into your stance." Both positioned themselves, ready to attack as soon as they were allowed.

"Begin!"

Ludwig quickly dodged as a shrill screech cut through the air where he had stood, causing a large dent in the wall just behind him. He didn't turn back to inspect the damage, instead a flick of his hand sent air sickles in her direction. It was a small move, too small for anyone to know what was coming if they weren't paying close enough attention. Natalya noticed almost a moment too late. She barely managed to dodge them, her shoulder grazed. She scowled at the small amount blood pooling in that area, but didn't let herself get distracted by it.

Ludwig was fast approaching, but she wasn't stupid. They were too unevenly matched physically, and allowing him to get close would mean her instant defeat. She opened her mouth to let out another piercing screech just as Ludwig had built a defense of the earth. It shattered and sent a few stones flying back at him, but nothing that would cause much damage. No, it was only a distraction to allow her to put distance between them. She looked down at her utility belt, seeing the two guns she had been given, but knowing that they wouldn't be of any use right now; he would block himself off completely if he saw her hand shift that way, and he wouldn't fall for the same trick twice to allow himself to be distracted. She just needed a hit to land, just one to send him hurling back and give her enough time to draw her guns, but he knew that, too, and he wasn't going to let it happen. She could try to attack endlessly, but that would convince the founders that she would be a danger as a hero, even if she did win the match. Right now, she would have to hope for a slip up.

Another flick of the wrist was met by a clean dodge this time, as she let out another shrill scream. It wasn't working, he would dodge, each time knowing the perfect distance to move to miss her attack. He had analyzed the range, she thought. After the first attack, he _had_ looked. It had been guess work first, the spread of it, then the strength of it as he allowed his wall to crumble, now he knew.

It was always dangerous having someone know the full expanse of your powers. You always had to have a card up your sleeve. Natalya, of course, had hers. She ran, almost recklessly, at her opponent, drawing her guns. She shot too many times for Ludwig to be able to dodge, which was what she had hoped. He built another defensive wall of the earth, she let out another shriek, crumbling it, and sending the debris back. She was too close, her attack was too strong, and the rocks flew at Ludwig like missiles. Another shriek, and Ludwig flew back just as he had raised his arm, crashing against the walls of the arena before he crumbled to the ground.

Natalya approached cautiously, guns tightly gripped in her hands. The body didn't stir as she approached, but nobody was declaring a winner. She would have to give a finishing blow. She stopped five feet from the body, a safe distance, she thought, and raised her gun, but in that moment, her feet were locked into the ground, and her body was unable to move as the ground wrapped itself around her legs and restrained her. Ludwig stood slowly, lip bleeding, and covered in dust. He slowly limped to her as she began to panic, looking for a way out, but finding none. She tried to open her mouth, only to find it locked shut by the earth that had swallowed up her body.

Ludwig didn't create any unnecessary weapons to deal the finishing blow; with one swift punch he sent her skidding across the arena with only a small grunt before she stopped, unconscious.

The audience stood, but there wasn't a sound, not even when his brother and Katyusha approached and started moving their lips. The two looked to each other and began to speak, then Katyusha turned to him and placed her hands over his ears. Slowly the sound came back, and he heard a portion of what she had been saying.

"... burst his ear drums. She was very close, though, so I'm surprised his organs aren't ruptured."

"He might have caught on and blown away a bit of the impact, but I'm not sure the founders will let her become a hero..." It was true, any other person would have had multiple internal injuries, not just from the harsh crash, but from such a close sonic screech, and that would have been the least of it. Had anyone endured that attack so closely, they would most likely have had their organs turned to pulp and their bones pulverized.

"Maybe... if she keeps her distance," Katyusha looked to her younger sister, who was crumpled on the floor, her hair messy, and her arms scuffed. Nobody was allowed to move the bodies until Katyusha gave the okay for fear of causing further damage.

"Can you hear us now, Ludwig?" He gave a small nod. "You won the match, I'll meet you in the clinic after I make sure Natalya is okay." She gave him a small, congratulatory pat, then made her way to Natalya. Gilbert ruffled his hair and gave him a large grin before he followed Katyusha.

They talked quietly amongst themselves as Katyusha's hands hovered above the body, assessing the damage. She gave a nod, which was all his brother needed to take the body into his arms and carry it away. Ludwig followed.

The heroes scribbled down their reports. Tino acknowledged the fact that had Ludwig not had the abilities he did, Natalya would have been victorious. He wrote about Natalya's bold, final attack, and her smart use of her weapons and abilities. He also wrote about the precision with which Ludwig moved and attacked, never wasting an ounce of energy, recording everything he thought was a success or shortcoming by the two competitors.

In the end, Alaric and Romulus would assess the notes and come to a decision in captains, while the heroes would decide who would join them. Speaking of Romulus- Tino watched as he and Francis stood, excusing themselves. Alaric stopped Romulus short, grabbing his hand as he stood. It seemed it was a telepathic conversation as the two stared at each other before Romulus shook his head and walked off. Alaric watched him go suspiciously, but said nothing. Tino looked around, but noticed that him and Antonio were the only other ones watching the two depart curiously. They met each other's gaze in a mutual questioning look for a moment before shrugging it off and turning back to their reports.

Natalya had been Tino's student, and while she did scare him from time to time, there was no doubt in his mind that she was very skilled, and he was proud of her display in the arena. He looked around again. She had also been Gilbert's student, along with Ludwig.

All the heroes today would watch their students compete, but most weren't like Tino. They were harsh in their judgement, picking apart every mistake, unwilling to let an inadequate student be their, or the Academy's, legacy.

He peeked over at Mathias and Lukas. Mathias was practically bouncing in his seat in anticipation of the partner and team matches. Lukas seemed excited too, but he only showed it in the way his fingers were tapping on the table.

Emil had decided to join their team if he passed, and the two were waiting to see him fight like proud parents. He was really excited to see Matthew and Alfred compete as well, but he had already seen what they could do; Emil hated training in front of Lukas and Mathias. Lukas caught him staring and gave him a small nod, to which he smiled and gave a brief wave.

They both turned as Katyusha and Gilbert made their way back to their seats. Romulus and Francis did, too.

"Alright! Shut up. The next match will be Lien Chung and Lucille Meri- how the fuck do you say that? Hey Francis come here." The man in question stood with a sigh and read over the girl's surname.

"Lucille Merimée," he stated simply into the microphone, then went back to his seat and plopped himself down.

"Yeah, her; The new kid. Competitors shake hands-" Tino blocked out whatever Gilbert was saying and turned to Francis. He looked like something was bothering him and he could tell he wasn't paying attention to the match, either. Tino lay a hand on his upper arm, causing the man to snap back to reality with a start. His eyes quickly scanned Tino's face before a realization came over his features and he sent him a curious look, as if to ask if he needed anything.

'Are you okay?' Tino mouthed. The man quirked a brow, indicating that he didn't know what he meant. Tino leaned in. "You look like something's bothering you. Are you okay? Did Romulus say something?" Francis tensed, but quickly forced himself to relax.

"Why would you think that? No, he didn't say anything. I guess I just remembered the first time the Kirklands fought in this arena. It seems like such a long time ago." With that, he turned back to the match, focusing his sole attention on it, leaving no more room for discussion, and who would further pursue that topic, anyway? There was nothing left to say concerning that Kirklands' departure, everything had already been said years ago. Francis had left no room for questions and no room for doubt.

Tino watched him a few moments longer, then turned his attention back to the match as well. Lucille and Lien were both predominantly hand to hand fighters, meaning it took a great amount of alertness to have the upper hand. While Lucille had luck on her side, Lien had the most superhuman enhancements out of everyone in the school. She was almost like a cat, always able to land on her feet, meaning Lucille's luck would have no affect on Lien unless she pulled out her guns, or any other inanimate object. Lien seemed to understand that, too, as she was trying her best to keep the fight hand to hand.

When Lucille pulled out her gun, she found her wrist twisted in seconds, and her gun flung halfway across the arena. She brought Lucille to her knees, arm restrained behind her back as she tried to subdue her, but when she bent to rip the other one from its holster, her grip shifted slightly, allowing the other girl to grab her and throw her over her shoulder.

Her body didn't hit the ground, she had planted her feet before her body could collide, knees bent slightly, body arched up. Lucille stared, clearly shocked, and loosened her hold. Lien flipped over, quickly yanked out her own gun from her belt and shot her close range right between the eyes, but- the gun had jammed.

Lucille quickly snapped out of it, and pulled out her own gun, but Lien had already decided on another way to incapacitate her opponent with the gun and struck her, a loud, resounding blow, against her head. Lucille didn't move, even as Lien stood and shot again with her other gun. The synthetic bullet turned red, indicating a hit and her victory. The crowd roared in celebration of an excellent match, which Tino had mostly missed, as Gilbert and Katyusha approached the scene. Lien shrugged off their attention, stating that she didn't need treatment, despite the multiple bruises and scrapes. She walked back to the waiting area, leaving the two heroes to tend to Lucille. She had fought a good match, but she was still too inexperienced to become a captain.

Tino's attention was drawn to a harsh scratching noise, and he turned to see Francis scratch 'Unable to keep up with other mutants' on his paper.

Tino winced. Sure, she had been shocked a few times and that had impeded her, but she was new, and she did a fairly good job in his opinion. Tino had never known Francis to be so cruel in his judgement towards anyone, except Arthur, and especially never towards a woman. Even when he was rude to Arthur, they had known each other for years and it had been as natural as breathing for them. Tino sent him another worried look, but knew if he didn't tell him what was wrong the first time, he wouldn't tell him the second time.

The next match was Jett and Heracles, but Tino couldn't bring himself to concentrate. There were brief moments when he was aware of the fight, like when Jett had transformed into a tiger and had taken a rather large bite of Heracles's arm, or when Heracles had turned the boy into a whimpering unstable mess, unable to hold a single form, but overall, he didn't pay attention. He wouldn't have known the winner if Gilbert hadn't announced it.

It was apparently one of the more impressive fights, brain vs. brawn. Not that Jett was in any way stupid, but he had fought on pure instinct, just like an animal. He looked to Antonio who scribbled on his paper through a crinkled brow. No doubt commenting on how Jett hadn't gotten his animalistic way of thinking under control, which made it easier for Heracles to gain the upper hand.

The next fight was one most of the heroes and the audience were excited over. Alfred and Ivan were known to fight on occasion, anywhere and everywhere, but never to the end. They were both very strong and very stubborn, and while they always did fight, they were very good friends.

Nobody really knew what the outcome would be if those two were made to fight seriously, but it seemed that they would have to now. Tino's full attention was drawn to the match and to his son. He turned to look at Berwald to see a small smile present on his lips. It made Tino's heart flutter to see him look like a proud father, and he _was_ Alfred's dad. Ever since he was four, just turning five, and they had found him on one of their missions. He smiled fondly at the memory, but was quickly brought back to the present by Gilbert's booming voice instructing the competitors to shake hands, and get into their stance.

Gilbert began the match and the boys started attacking immediately. Ivan was quick to give himself the upper hand and surround the arena in ice. Everything from the walls lining the barrier between them and the stand, to the ground beneath them and up to Alfred's ankles. Alfred brought down a heavy fist to the ground and shattered the ice like glass, kicking it off of himself.

He charged at Ivan, and if the boy had hoped the ice would impede Alfred's movements, he was wrong, as it crumbled under his heavy foot falls. Ivan's face darkened as lifted a hand and made a throwing gesture. The ice lined walls behind him peeled off into sharp shards and flung themselves at Alfred. He ducked and rolled, not once slowing down in his advances, even when his shoulder and ribs were grazed.

Ivan put himself into a fighting stance as Alfred was only a few feet from him, and when he approached, he had no trouble keeping up with his strength. Both sent powerful blows that echoed throughout the arena, but every one was blocked by the other. They were too evenly matched.

It wasn't until Ivan grabbed Alfred's wrist that they were able to get out of their stalemate. Alfred tried to wrestle his arm loose, but when that didn't work, he raised his other fist. Ivan quickly caught that one as well and Alfred's body shook in an attempt to free himself.

Clear ice spread from his hands and ankles through his body as Alfred looked on horrified. Tino stood in his seat, but was instructed to stay out of it by Alaric. He looked to Berwald who looked just as worried, but shook his head. Alfred had to take care of it. If it got too bad, Gilbert or one of the founders would stop the fight.

Once Alfred had been frozen solid, Gilbert stood to announce a winner, but Ivan wasn't done. He sent Alfred hurtling across the arena with a kick to his stomach, shattering the ice. Alfred was on his hands and knees, coughing as he tried to regain his breath, and shivering as Ivan approached. The boy grabbed him by the throat and picked him up causing Alfred to gasp for air. As he slowly began to slip out of consciousness, he brought his head back and then forward with just as much force. Ivan stumbled backwards and dropped him, but this time Alfred didn't waste a second trying to compose himself. He struck a second time right after the first. A punch that sent Ivan crashing to the ground, denting the earth. Alfred allowed Ivan to get onto his hands and knees before he kicked the boy, sending him sprawling backwards.

Both boys were panting hard, Alfred still not having recovered from the blows he was dealt, and Ivan from all the consecutive attacks. As Alfred took a step closer to Ivan, he lay his hand on the ground, spreading a patch of ice around Alfred. Too exhausted to mind anything other than his opponent, he slipped and crashed against the ground in front of Ivan. Gilbert stood again, waiting for one of them to stand up, but when neither did, he called it a draw and announced an intermission.

Tino laughed lightly at the sight. It somewhat reminded him of Berwald and Mathias. He remembered that Lukas had told him that they had fought against each other, and after a very long stalemate, a draw was called. They had broken bones, were bleeding heavily, and had run out of energy by the end, but kept fighting until they were pried apart. Even still, they were friends. A tap on his arm, and a bundle of reports dropped in front of him alerted him to the current situation.

Reports of the solo match were handed to the founders as the heroes stood to stretch their limbs, along with the audience. Tino watched Francis swiftly weave his way through the audience as Romulus followed only seconds after. He turned to see that Antonio had noticed as well, having known what to look for. Alaric had also noticed, and was watching with a wrinkled brow. Tino was about to approach Antonio and ask him his thoughts, but was sidetracked when the other Nordics approached him, and Gilbert, Lars, and Bella approached Antonio.

The Nordics made their way to the waiting area where Matthew, Lovino, and Emil discussed the previous match. Matthew was evidently very concerned over Alfred, but Emil and Lovino were attempting to reassure him that he would be fine, Katyusha could fix up anything, after all. When they saw their guardians approach they paused their conversation. Emil blushed a deep red and walked away, muttering something about finding Leon, while Matthew and Lovino gave a small wave.

Tino bounded over to them excitedly, embracing the two boys, with Berwald just behind him. Lukas and Mathias headed the same way as Emil, not willing to let him escape so easily.

"Are you guys excited?! I can't wait to see you two fight! You'll be perfect! Mattie, you have your guns? Great! Ah, it makes me so happy to see one of my kids using guns, too. I thought Alfred would when he was younger and I had really looked forward to teaching him, but he decided to rely on his strength only," Tino said with a pout.

Lovino let out a small laugh at Matthew's darkening blush at the attention, but turned the same shade of scarlet when Tino turned his praise to him. "My Lovino! You're like my fourth baby- Oh my god, I have four," he turned to Berwald with a wide eyed expression. "We have four kids Berwald! I'm too young for this." Berwald chuckled lightly and kissed Tino on the cheek. "F've. Ya forg't Erl'nd."

"Oh! My newest baby! I don't think he likes me much, though..."

"He's warmin' up t' ya-"

"You're just trying to rub it in that he likes you more than me," Tino crossed his arms and turned away pouting, before realizing that he was talking to Lovino. Him and Matthew were smiling at his parents' playful display of affection.

"Oh! I'm sorry, I got distracted. Lovino, you're going to do so well, too! I really think you should have tried to become a captain. You have the determination and skill of one-"

"I'm not a leader." He looked down at his feet as Matthew grabbed his upper arm, smiling at him, and rested his head on his shoulder.

"Only because you don't want to be- Oh, but who am I to lecture you! I turned down the chance to be a captain, too." He laughed nervously, then sent a smile to the two boys, and kissed their cheeks as he walked out with Berwald, no doubt going to visit Alfred in the small clinic, and his two other kids in the stands.

Berwald pat both of their heads as he walked out, an encouraging gesture. Matthew turned to ask Lovino how he felt about the upcoming match, but broke into a fit of giggles before he got the chance.

Lovino arched a brow and turned to see what he was laughing at, and snorted at the sight. Emil was an impossible shade of red, hands covering his face as Lukas knelt in front of him to stand at eye level, most likely trying to encourage him, as he gave him two thumbs up; something that looked a little bizarre with his bored expression. Mathias was standing to the side, speaking to Leon, who would occasionally send an amused smile in his partner's direction. When Lukas had finished, and stood from his stooped position, the two ceased their conversation.

Both looked adoringly at their partners who were so different, and yet, so alike. Mathias gave Emil and Leon a rough pat on the back as he walked out, while Lukas stayed a bit longer and placed a hand atop his brother's hair, before turning a small, yet effective glare to Leon. He said something, but the two were too far to hear exactly what. Whatever it was, it made Emil lower his hands and attempt to push his brother out of the large room. Lukas raised his arms in defeat and turned to leave, but not without giving his brother a quick peck on the cheek and one more glare in Leon's direction.

Matthew composed himself, and was about to ask Lovino his question, when they heard a voice call out to Lovino. The boy turned to find Antonio waving excitedly at the two boys. He bumped into a student or two on the way, and apologized profusely before he finally reached the boys. Lovino, who had made a single attempt to escape, had found himself locked in place by Matthew's firm grip on his arm. To anyone else, it would have seemed like a friendly gesture, but to Lovino, it meant more embarrassment than he could tolerate for the day without escape.

"Are you excited for the match, Lovi?" Antonio beamed at the boys. He looked absolutely ecstatic, and even more excited than the two boys, themselves.

"Sure, I guess so..." Lovino mumbled, turning away.

"Well, I think you're going to do great! Good luck, Lovi! You're going to make a great hero!"

"You don't even know if I'll pass, bastard." Lovino was the same shade of red Emil had been earlier, and was sending an occasional glare to Matthew, who was smiling innocently.

"Oh! Gilbert's kinda busy right now, but he wishes you two the best of luck, too. He said that you need to watch your temper, Lovino, and make sure you don't throw any hits recklessly, save your energy, or something like that. I can't really remember." Antonio laughed shyly, rubbing the back of his neck.

Lovino scoffed. "Tell that bastard I know what I'm doing."

"He told me to tell Matthew something, too, but that one was a little long, let me see if I can remember it all..." Matthew, who had been trying to hold back his laughter the whole time, froze and went a light shade of scarlet.

"Y-you know, I should really go see how Alfred's doing-" Lovino linked his arm with Matthew's to keep him in place and sent him a devious smile.

"He said something like 'tell him I need him to be careful. I know he doesn't like to fight, and that's not always a bad thing, actually it's kinda cute- wait- don't tell him tha-' oh... I'm sure he won't mind too much... Anyway, he also said something 'tell him I said he'll do great, and to do his best, if not for himself, then for me and Lovino.'" Matthew had shifted his attention to the ground at this point, his hair covering his face and his blush. He only nodded at the message.

"Are you okay?" Antonio watched him, concerned, before turning to Lovino for the answer he clearly wasn't going to get from Matthew.

"He's fine, just a little nervous. Right, Mattie?" Matthew sent him a small glare.

"Okay, well, good luck. I'll be cheering you both on-"

"The intermission is over, get back to your seats. Antonio, we're going to need your ass back at the judges' tabl- ow- okay! Antonio, _please return to your seat_ The first match will be Lovino Vargas and Matthew Williams against Lucille Merimée and Michelle Mancham." With one more 'Good luck,' Antonio made his way out of the waiting room and to the stands.

Matthew heard Lovino curse, but held his hand, and walked out the door more sure than he had ever been in his life. The section that held the Academy's kids roared at the sight of them, which was enough to lift Lovino's head a bit higher, and make his stride a little more sure. Looking to the heroes' table, they saw Gilbert grinning widely, Antonio waving, and the Nordics smiling and clapping at the sight of them. They were ready for this match, even if they were each about to face someone who would have an advantage over them, they would keep fighting. For their parents, and for their newly made friends.

 **There's the first part of the tournament :D! The second part will be up maybe later today, or tomorrow, or something, I don't know I'm sleepy and have two essays due XD. I'll also add all the new superpowers and answer reviews there! Sorry for the bad action scenes XD. Anyway, review and stuff (I don't remember what I usually say, okay XD? I'm tired OAO).**


	16. Chapter 16

"Competitors, shake hands."

They did.

"Get into your positions."

Check.

"Begin!"

Matthew's heart stuttered at the commencement of his fight; his body shook, but he acted on instinct and disappeared. Lovino was already trying to single out Lucille, knowing it would be smarter for him to fight her, and for Matthew to fight Michelle. Right- Michelle. Matthew turned to look at her, only to find her holding perfectly still, arms spread at her side, eyes closed. There was a distant rumbling, but he couldn't tell where it was coming from, or if Michelle was the source. He didn't know what she was doing, but either way, he knew it was not good.

He made his way behind her in a matter of seconds and kicked her off her feet, but it was too late as a substantial amount of water flooded into the arena. Matthew looked to Lovino, panicked, but the boy kept fighting, paying it no mind; it hadn't been enough to actually cover the arena, and was already being swallowed up by the ground. Even still, he trusted Matthew would take care of it.

Michelle raised herself onto her knees, quickly lifted it out of the ground, and raised an arm to aim it at Lovino, who was beginning to drive Lucille into a corner. It was a little frustrating to be so blatantly ignored, but it was in Michelle's best interest to knock Lovino out first. Forget it, Matthew thought. If they were both going to attack Lovino, it would be better to try and end it quickly. He pulled out his gun to shoot Michelle, who still wasn't paying the slightest bit of attention to him, but found that it had jammed. He slammed it into his palm a few times, trying to get it to work, but when it didn't, he decided to attack Michelle straight on, not just to distract her from Lovino, but to defeat her.

It was a strange concept to him because, in a way, it meant him and Lovino would have to fight separately, but he didn't have time to ponder it, as Michelle wasn't going to wait for him to come to terms with a semi-solo fight.

A swift kick to her back sent Michelle crashing back against the ground, along with the free flowing river. Matthew winced at the pained grunt that escaped Michelle's lips, but did his best to keep himself from faltering. Another kick to her side sent Michelle rolling a few feet across the arena's ground.

He really couldn't do this. It was fine when it was Alfred, or Gilbert, or even Lovino, but beating a defenseless girl who couldn't fight back, and who he didn't even know, was definitely against his morals. He heard a loud buzz echo through the arena, only to see that Lovino's arm had been shot, rendering it useless for the rest of the match.

He watched as that didn't slow the boy down, he still kicked, punched, and sent bursts of flames with his remaining limbs. That was his Lovino, he thought with a smile. He wouldn't fail him. If Michelle didn't want to attack him, then that was her business, he decided.

On Michelle's final feeble attempt at standing, Matthew kicked the side of her head, leaving her to limply crash against the ground. He turned his attention to Lovino, who was having a very hard time hitting his agile target. It was something Gilbert never managed to get under control: Lovino's wanton strikes when he got frustrated.

Lovino, as one of the only ones who could see Matthew grinned as he saw the boy appear behind his opponent. He gave a small nod that Lucille quickly caught. She turned, but was a second too late as Matthew sent her crashing towards Lovino, who delivered a burning blow that had her screaming in agony, much to Matthew's dismay, but it had to be done, and Katyusha would make quick work of her injuries... he hoped.

It looked like the effect his hit had on the poor girl was a little off-putting to Lovino too, but a look to the stands showed everyone he had worked hard for, and a look in front of him showed Matthew, disturbed, but determined. So he took it upon himself to incapacitate her; Matthew had already done his part, and he had yet to really prove himself. Another strike was followed by another shriek.

The girl was trembling, the shock of her injuries taking a hold of her, but she wouldn't go down that easily. If she was already getting burned, she might as well directly hit her target, she figured. She raised a fist and sent it crashing against Lovino's jaw, snapping his head to the side. A small grunt escaped her lips at the pain, but she kept fighting, sending kicks and punches that were mutually harmful.

Matthew decided to end it, for both of them, and punched, but she managed to dodge. He kicked, punched, even grabbed for, but the girl was fighting on pure instinct now, pushed past her limit, causing her powers to become exacerbated. She was able to avoid being hit on pure luck.

Matthew had enough of their useless struggle, grabbed the girl by the neck, and pressed her against the arena's ground. She struggled and gasped, clawing at his hand, the only tangible part of his body at the moment, even if it wasn't visible. He looked away as she slowly became more sluggish, eyes glowing in desperation as her last breath ran out. He held her a moment longer to secure that she wouldn't be getting up soon. He looked back to find her completely still, eyes closed, and several parts of her body burned badly.

He paused. There was no announcement of a victor. He quickly swung around to find that Lovino and Michelle were both trapped in a dome of rapid rushing water. While Michelle looked like she was having no trouble breathing, Lovino was looking around desperately for a means of escape.

Matthew tried to rush in, but was thrown back by the fast flowing, impenetrable current. He looked to Lovino, unsure of how to release him. Michelle and Lovino were both sealed in a very confined space of calm water, too small for Matthew to teleport into and not push his friend into the rough waters. Lovino was running out of oxygen, that much was clear, and he couldn't step in, he needed to breathe, even when he was intangible and invisible, and once he stepped in, he would be completely under Michelle's control. He came to a decision.

He became visible for the first time since the match had started, dropped his guns, and raised his arms in surrender, as he dropped to his knees.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw a pale haired figure tense and Tino place a hand over his mouth, but he didn't care if he lost. It would be better for everyone if Lovino was released.

Lovino saw him and used the last of his breath to scream a muffled 'No!' He was done; he was going to drown, and they would lose.

Matthew looked up as Michelle continued to refuse to release Lovino, and he saw when the boy ran out of breath. His eyes widened as he turned to Michelle.

"Let him go! Get out of there! Let him go! Please! You're in danger!"

It was one of the ways their powers were first brought out. High stress situations, the need to survive, followed by large burst of energy, but Michelle didn't think his warning anything more than a bluff.

The water around Lovino began to boil as his body rose to dangerously high temperatures. The heat spread quickly, too quickly for Michelle to make sense of it. She screamed as the heat enveloped and burned her. Her water prison released as she fell unconscious and crashed against the ground beneath her, the water quickly evaporating with the heat from Lovino's, now, flame covered figure and the rest was once again soaked up by the ground. Michelle was colored a brilliant red as she lay unconscious, covered in third and second degree burns. Matthew quickly made his way to Lovino, and stopped him from approaching her. It wouldn't be good if he saw what he'd done.

"The winners of the match are Matthew and Lovino!" Gilbert said as he approached the arena.

Katyusha quickly ran over to Michelle, and began to heal her where she lay. Gilbert turned the boys away, and gave them a light push in the direction of the waiting room. They hesitated, but were reassured as he smiled warmly down at them with a "You did well."

Matthew didn't have a scratch on him, so he didn't head to the clinic, while Lovino decided to endure his few bruises and scratches. It was a victory, they both thought, but it didn't feel like one.

They headed in together. Alfred and Ludwig, newly healed, Kiku, and Feliciano approached the two boys.

Alfred lifted his brother's head in his hands, sensing his distress. "Don't worry, injuries worse than that have happened, and are bound to happen again. You did really well. Both of you," he said, resting a hand on Lovino's shoulder.

"Yeah! One year, Allistor broke a bunch of his opponents bones in one hit! Yao was able to heal all of them, so it's okay! Nobody holds it against anybody, we all know we have to!" Lovino and Matthew cringed at the light hearted nature with which they were able to injure one another.

"Exactly! I don't hold it against Ivan for freezing me solid. I totally kicked his ass, anyway!" Alfred said, loud enough for the boy to hear. He looked up from his conversation with Toris, and made his way over, smiling the same ominous smile he always wore.

"Hello, Alfred. Did any of your fingers happen to freeze off?"

"Of course they didn't." Alfred said, smiling back at the boy in front of him.

"Would you like them to?" He said, taking a step closer. Lovino, Matthew, and Feliciano stepped back at his approach, but Ludwig and Alfred held their ground.

"No, thank you!" He said cheerily, even though his eyes held a fighting spirit that was meant to tempt him to try.

Every competitor within a ten foot radius stepped away, while Ludwig stepped forward with an irritated sigh and pushed the two boys apart.

"There is no point in wasting your energy fighting here, when you will have to fight out there again, anyway. Besides, it appears that you two are next." Everyone looked up to find Alfred and Ivan's names displayed on the large screen, not against one another, but as a pair going against Heracles and Kiku.

Lovino felt all eyes shift to Alfred and Ivan who were grinning at one another, any tense air between them having dissipated as they headed down the dark hall, towards the northern arena entrance. It was shocking, to say the least, but they were friends... in a way.

Kiku and Heracles walked past them, heading towards the southern arena entrance, and Lovino couldn't help but feel a bit scared for them, Kiku in particular. He was so small, and looked very fragile. Heracles, he figured, would do fine, he had a large stature and had already fought a competitor that assured the audience and other competitors that he could take care of himself. He was proven incredibly wrong when the match had begun.

The four screens on every wall of the room displayed the scene as Alfred charged at Kiku with every ounce of strength he had, only for the wispy boy to hold out a single hand to stop him. The impact slid him back slightly, but he was overall uninjured. In an instant he appeared behind Alfred and threw across the arena. He turned his attention to Heracles, who was having a hard time dodging Ivan's attacks. A quick glance between one another and Heracles gained the upper hand. Ivan stumbled in his attacks and slowed significantly.

"Kiku really is amazing, I don't think Alfred and Ivan stand a chance..." Matthew and Lovino turned to Feliciano, who was watching the screen in awe.

"W-what do you mean?" Matthew glanced between the screen and Feliciano.

"He can do anything, and he can make his partner way stronger." He pointed at the screen, "Look. See there?"

Ivan was on the ground, clutching his head. Random spikes of ice were shooting out of the ground. Any that looked like they were gonna hit Kiku melted the second they touched his skin. He had seen almost the same thing happen in Heracles's earlier match, but he had struck his opponent with some kind of weapon, then. When it looked like Jett would get up, Heracles would turn his weapon just in the air before him, and Jett would become a whimpering mess, but this was different. Heracles was only _watching_ Ivan, and he had gotten out of control. He had made no contact with him through any weapon or touch.

"How-?"

"Kiku can make people stronger. Now Heracles can't just _feel_ his opponent's emotions, he can control them, and a power is controlled by emotions, isn't it? I think if Kiku had given him any more attention, he would have been able to steal Ivan or Alfred's abilities. At this rate, he might hurt Alfred..."

"W-What's he making him feel?" Matthew asked, looking only to the screen. A part of him knew what emotion could cause so much damage, but he couldn't quite think at the moment.

"Fear," Feliciano stated simply. His eyes were locked onto the screen, too, waiting for the inevitable.

Alfred's arm was scarped by a rogue spike. He was having a hard time dodging Ivan's out of control attacks, Kiku, and attempting to reach Ivan. Matthew watched as Alfred jumped back to avoid Kiku's blow, then to the side to avoid Ivan's, and then back again to avoid Kiku. He was obviously growing tired as he was getting hit more easily, and he desperately needed to snap Ivan out of it.

Matthew watched Alfred finally reach the boy and began to tremble. It wasn't safe for him to be so close to someone consumed by fear. He wanted to tell Alfred to get away from there, but even if he could find his voice and scream it at the top of his lungs, Alfred wouldn't hear him. He was remotely aware of Lovino taking his hand, but he felt like he was going numb.

Alfred picked Ivan up off his knees and began trying to speak to him, then began shaking him, then stilled and dropped him, as blood trickled down the side of his mouth. Alfred looked down as Ivan's body collapsed, revealing a huge, clear barb had passed through his stomach. It pulled back out and into the ground and he fell face first to the ground as Matthew dropped to his knees with a horrified scream. Gilbert and the founders quickly stopped the match.

He could feel is breathing become erratic and his vision became blurry as Lovino blocked the screen from his view and Feliciano, Emil, and Leon attempted to placate and reassure him.

Meanwhile, Heracles quickly released Ivan as the Nordics, Katyusha, Arthur, Gilbert, and the Founders quickly approached the scene, leaving the other heroes behind. Alfred was gently moved onto his back to reveal that he was coughing up blood, and the hole in his abdomen was soaking the ground. Kiku ran over as well, and Ivan quickly snapped back to his senses. He crawled over to Alfred and lay a shaky hand on him.

Alfred began to turn blue as Ivan lowered his temperature to slow the bleeding. The Nordics had to be pushed back by Gilbert and the founders, who were looking as troubled as them. Arthur was chanting something over his body that restored a large portion of his destroyed organs and spine while Katyusha began healing the skin, muscle, and restoring the organs to their normal functions. Kiku laid his hands on Katyusha's as she healed him, before he pulled his away and did the same. The wound slowly closed, even with Kiku pushing his, Arthur's and Katyusha's abilites onward, but it would close much faster than he would bleed out.

Everyone watched nervously as the wound healed, but Alfred didn't stir. Ivan, Kiku, Arthur and Katyusha pulled their hands back, and stood, waiting. Alfred stirred slightly, groaning before he sat up with a slight, pained moan.

"It's fucking cold," he muttered, looking around.

"Oh thank God!" Tino pushed past Gilbert and pulled Alfred into a hug, followed by Arthur, Kiku, Ivan, Berwald, Mathias, and Lukas.

"He _just_ fucking healed! Get offa him! You can hug him when Katyusha looks him over in the clinic, except for you five, you have to be at the judges' table," Romulus yelled, trying to shoo away the heroes.

"Uh- actually, if Berwald could carry Alfred to the clinic, that'd be great. He's kinda taller and broader than me, and I don't think I could do it..." Romulus hesitated, not wanting to drag things on longer than they should, but if it would just be Berwald, he wouldn't have to worry as much. The man in question stepped forward and picked up the madly blushing boy into his arms, and began following Katyusha and Gilbert. Tino tried to follow, but the Founders refused to allow him to do so, even if he left a copy behind, knowing it would mean he would stall longer looking the boy over completely and asking him several times if he was okay. They began herding the remaining heroes back to their seats, where the others stood, waiting anxiously for news of how the boy was doing.

It had taken a great effort to steady Matthew again, and return his breathing to normal, but he was still crying quietly and trembling. He hadn't fully recovered until Berwald, Gilbert and Katyusha came through the hall leading to the clinic.

"I-Is he okay?" He asked no one in particular. Lovino steadied him as he made his way over.

"Yeah, he'll b' fine. A l'ttle mad he l'st, but he'll g't ov'r it. Are ya 'kay?" Berwald made his way over to Matthew and cleared the tears from Matthew's face, brushing his hair out of the way.

Matthew's eyes began to tear up again at his concerned tone, and as he realized that Gilbert had brought him along on purpose. It was the best excuse he could have made up to get at least one of his parents to comfort him. He latched onto his dad and buried his head in his shirt. Berwald wrapped his arms around the boy and stroked his hair as he calmed down. When Matthew took in a quivering breath, he released him, and allowed him to pull back.

"Why do they do this? It's so dangerous and everyone gets hurt. Why would they make us endure it?" Berwald thought for a moment, but he was never very good with words, so it was Gilbert who finally spoke up.

"Your powers are dangerous. Having to fight your own classmates shows you the damage you can do to those who are close to you if you don't know how to control them. It gives an idea of what could happen to a human if you lost control, too. The Tournament isn't just meant to weed out the students that aren't ready, it's meant to mature the students and expose them to the harm they could really cause. It helps them go about it seriously and cautiously." Berwald and Katyusha nodded, having experienced the injuries of the tournament, as well.

"It... scares us into being careful..." Matthew said, more to himself than the others. He nodded and pulled away from his dad with a final 'thank you' and another quick hug. Just as they turned to leave, he pulled Gilbert into a hug, too. Berwald looked torn between being confused and suspicious of their closeness. Gilbert laughed nervously at the wary glance the large man sent him and reluctantly pulled away, ruffling Matthew's hair and wishing him good luck before he walked out with the others.

Once they were seated, Gilbert announced the next match as being Leon Wang and Emil Steilsson versus Mei Xiao and Lien Chung. Leon face split into a cocky smirk as he made his way to the northern entrance with Emil while the two girls went to the southern entrance. Leon had known the girls all his life and had lived with them under Yao; he already knew all their strengths and weaknesses, and they knew his, but he had Emil, and they knew near nothing about him.

Matthew wished Emil and Leon good luck and thanked them as they stepped out, but he didn't really feel like watching how things went. Lovino noticed his mood and went to situate himself beside him.

"Are you sure you're okay, Mattie?" Matthew gave him a fake smile before it dissolved into a troubled look.

"I'm sure Alfred's fine, now, but... it's barbaric, isnt it? The way this goes? Alfred has been frozen and impaled, you nearly drowned and almost boiled someone alive, Natalya could have reduced Ludwig to mush, and I-"

"You've done the least damage, Mattie." Lovino rested a hand on his shoulder and smiled encouragingly at him.

"I know that, but it doesn't mean I like it anymore than everything else. Everyone is so proud, but I don't understand why; they'll heal and make up, but I don't understand how they could with someone who _hurt them_."

"You don't?" Lovino smiled cheekily at him. Matthew laughed and shoved him softly.

"That was different, you didn't really mean it."

"Neither do they; it's just something they have to do." Lovino looked to the screen where Leon had just changed the direction of one of Leon's misses to hit Lien. The girl seized and crashed to the ground.

"I'm sure there's another way to go about it..." He said with a pout. Lovino nodded with a small chuckle.

"How does that expression go? 'When in Rome'?" Matthew hummed in understanding. He had a point. This was Romulus's Rome, and if he said fight to test your worth, you fought, even if it was at everyone's expense.

The two boys conversed through the remaining matches, only keeping track of the victories of those they knew. Emil and Leon had won, and so had Feliciano and Ludwig. Next were the team matches. There were only about 6 teams, as two of the captains shared a team. Alfred and Ludwig shared one team and Ivan and Natalya shared another.

The first to compete were Lien, Mei, and Yong Soo versus Michelle, Leon, Emil, and Lucille. It was a close fight, but Lucille's team managed to defeat Lien's. Their saving grace ended up being Lucille's luck and her ability to see a route to a victory, although it was hard for her to clearly give them directions, which led to a few slip ups. If her team had anyone that was telepathic, she would have had a much more clear cut victory, but a victory was a victory; they were happy with what they got, and Lucille had proved herself as an efficient captain.

Alfred had returned halfway through the match, having been kept in the clinic to rest for nearly an hour before he was allowed to walk. He was very expressive as he cheered Emil on, and even more so when Emil had returned victorious. If the boy didn't have any bruises when he had returned from his fight, he sure did after Alfred pulled him into a hug and gave him a congratulatory 'pat' on the back.

Matthew flinched when Alfred lay his hand on his shoulder to get his attention, but his confusion was quickly replaced by joy when he saw Alfred alive and well before him. He had even been give a new shirt, considering his wasn't in any condition to be worn. He pulled him into a hug and held on until their match was announced.

He hesitated for a moment, not knowing if Alfred was even well enough to fight again, but was reassured by Alfred's confident smile, and when he showed him that not even a scar of his earlier wound was left. Alfred put his arm on his shoulder and led his team out with Ludwig. The fight looked overall advantageous to them. Ludwig and Feliciano had defeated Toris and Feliks, Ludwig had defeated Natalya, Alfred was on par, for the most part with Ivan, and Kiku would be able to enhance any of their abilities. Even still, Toris was telepathic and would be able to establish a secure connection between the team, allowing Ivan and Natalya to lead the team efficiently and communicate his opponents' next moves, while Kiku would only be able to establish a connection while he wasn't fighting, as he was only able to mimic a single power at a time, and a lot of his energy would be focused on enhancing his team's abilities.

"Competitors, shake hands." Matthew was feeling nervous again, his heart was drumming rapidly in his chest and he was beginning to shake again, but there were more people to rely on this time and he couldn't help but feel a little safer.

"Get into your stances." Breathe in, breathe out, he thought. He tried to steady himself, reminding himself that he had already done this.

"Begin!" Okay, now he just had to disappear, but what was the point if Toris would know where he was, would he be able to get a hit? It didn't matter! Everyone was already attacking! Matthew threw himself into the conflict. Ludwig was taking on Feliks, who, more or less, shared his abilites, Lovino was fighting Ivan, that certainly wasn't good, Feliciano was fighting Toris, Alfred had been fighting Natalya, but seeing as Ivan would have no trouble hitting Lovino, on fire or not, he turned away from her, making her Matthew's responsibility.

Not too bad, he thought, after all, she was hand to hand, and he didn't think she could do too much damage to him if he was invisible, or, at the very least, he could easily dodge her attacks, and with Feliciano distracting Toris, he could still have the element of surprise. Ivan noticed it as well, and tried to slow Feliciano down by freezing the arena ground, but Lovino wasn't going to allow that; as soon as the ice had spread, it had melted. Ivan lunged at him, but was thrown back by Alfred. The two boys nodded to one another and began fighting Ivan as a team. Lovino would keep them or the others from being frozen, while Alfred would deliver physical hits any time he got close. They were working well together, and Lovino even lent Ludwig some fire power to fight against Feliks. In exchange, Ludwig would shift the ground beneath Lovino to help him dodge any attacks that had slipped past Alfred.

Matthew was also playing a pivotal role as a member of the team, as Ludwig's fight against Feliks was starting to look like a tug of war. Once he had knocked Natalya off her feet, he shifted his attention to Feliks, sent him hurtling to Ludwig, who sent him crashing back and skidding across the ground before Feliks could see what was coming.

They were doing well, almost winning even, as only Ivan and Natalya were in good shape to fight, while Toris and Feliks looked ready to drop, until Lovino began losing control. He had accidentally hit Alfred in one of his attacks, and had nearly set Ivan ablaze had the boy not stepped back as quickly as he did. The fire enveloping his body had died out and he fell to his knees. He was shivering and his breathing grew fast and shallow.

"Stop! Stop!" Matthew turned at Lovino's panicked screams, allowing Natalya to send him crashing against the ground, but he wasn't focused on his fight anymore. He quickly made his way over to Lovino.

"Don't touch me!" Nobody was touching him, and Matthew hesitated to even comfort him. Lovino didn't seem to be aware of his current surroundings at that point. Matthew looked around the arena. All the fighting had stilled, and Feliciano looked ready to cry and was searching around frantically, although Matthew wasn't sure for what. Ludwig was next to him, trying to calm him down. Toris was breathing heavily, too. He was looking down at the ground, with Feliks next to him, clearly concerned.

"L-lovino? What's wrong? Are you okay?" Matthew lifted his head, but the boy seemed to be looking through him.

"It _hurts_ ," he said panting, an evidently pained expression on his face. "Where's Matthew? No. No, leave him alone! I did it! It's my fault!"

"What hurts? Lovino, I'm right here, nobody is doing anything to me! Lovino, we can take you to the clinic! Just tell me what's wrong!" Matthew stared in horror as he watched Lovino carry on his one sided conversation, before it dawned on him what he was probably experiencing.

"Lovino, we're not there anymore! You're okay! I'm okay! Look around you, please! You'll hurt people if you don't snap out of it!" He grabbed Lovino by the shoulders and began trying to shake him out of whatever trance he was in. His skin was incredibly hot to touch, but Matthew had learned to block out the heat in the months that passed. In the next few seconds, Lovino's breathing grew faster and more labored, Toris came out of his fit and yelled something to Feliks, and Matthew and Lovino were encased in darkness before a large blast of energy blew away the darkness in an explosion that sent rocks shooting outwards along with flames. Ludwig built the wall to repel that attack, but quickly tore it down to let Alfred and Kiku through. Feliciano, who had been in hysterics the whole time, looked around bewildered before he saw Ludwig and clung to him as he slowly made his way to Lovino.

The fight had unofficially been ended, as Toris's teammates began to ask him questions over his strange behavior and check on his well-being. The boy was still trembling, but still explained, pointing every now and then to Lovino.

Lovino had already become aware of what was actually happening; The first thing he had done was pull Matthew into a tight hug with a "you're okay" as if he couldn't believe his eyes, or couldn't understand. Both teams were too caught up with what had happened to notice the Founders and heroes approaching.

"Lovino," Romulus was the first to speak, " _what_ _happened?_ "

"I-"

"You lost control, nearly killed your teammates, opponents, and on a mission, everyone within a mile radius. It was quick thinking on Toris's part that has kept the others alive-"

"F-founder, it wasn't his fault, h-he was unaware of his surroundings. I... I was unfortunate enough to get caught in the trance he was in. I-it was horrific, and nearly inescapable and I ... I think anyone would have reacted in- in the way that Lovino had. W-with all due respect, even you." Romulus stared at the boy with a pointed look for a few moments, before he spoke again.

"In any sense, if such a burden still lies in his mind, and one that can make him dangerous to those around him, then I don't think Lovino can contend to be a hero-" Romulus crossed his arms, looking more satisfied than concerned over what had happened.

"No, but that's not true! Lovino and I- we haven't... It's behind us, Founder. Please believe me when I say that it has been behind us for months. I won't lie and say I didn't have an episode at all, I had one two months prior, with Feliciano as my witness, but Lovino hasn't had one since we first arrived. You can't disqualify him, it couldn't- I mean, maybe it was something like... what happened to Ivan?" Matthew looked around, uncertain, hoping for someone else to come up with a possible theory. Lovino was standing at the very back of the gathered teams with his hand on his upper arm and his attention focused on the ground.

"No one on either team has such an ability as to inflict the kind of mental damage on Lovino. Toris can only read and transfer thoughts, not illusions, and certainly not emotions. The waiting room, as well as the stands, are neutralized. No one would have been able to tamper with the matc-"

"Our area isn't neutralized," Antonio pointed out. The heroes' table, and that area in general allowed them to keep their powers in case of an emergency, in case they had to protect or subdue someone during a match. In fact, Elizabeta had raised defenses to protect the stands the second Feliks encased the boys in the earth.

"What are you trying to say, Antonio?"

"I think he might be right, Founder." All eyes turned to Toris, who was looking extremely uncomfortable with the attention given, but he felt obligated to speak in Lovino's defense. It was the right thing to do. "I had been tapped into the minds of every person in the arena to determine the opposing team's tactics and to communicate with my own team, but the images that filled Lovino's mind... they didn't originate there. It was as if they were simply dropped there... with Feliciano, too," he said signalling to the boy, who lowered his head, still holding onto Ludwig.

"No hero would have any reason to throw off a competitor!"

"Gettin' a little too worked up about this, aren't you, Romulus? Why don't you just give them a second chance?" Gilbert stated simply. A few of the heroes and captains agreed, but no one voiced their agreement.

"I'm not putting them in danger agai-"

"You won't have to. Alaric could just weed out the culprit." Alaric was watching Romulus closely, trying to make sense of his reaction. The man quickly shifted the attention away from the topic.

"You don't have any authority here, Gilbert. Don't question mine."

"That's enough, both of you. The match is over, I'll call it a draw. We have reports of their previous matches and the fight up until that incident. It is more than enough information to decide," he turned to the heroes. "If you could please disregard the incid-"

"No, forget it. If the idea of me becoming a hero bothers Romulus so much that he'd try so hard to keep me from it, then fine. I'm not stupid, I'm a danger. I get it. I don't want to be a fucking hero, anyway." Lovino, who hadn't uttered a word at all before this point, turned, and calmly walked away.

Matthew watched in shock. He wanted to say something in his defense, but wanted to go after him, too. He looked between the two, before he made his choice and ran after Lovino. He could say so much in his defense, but they would fall on Romulus's deaf ears, and he was the one who would have the say in it. But to Lovino- his comfort would mean the world to Lovino.

He didn't know what happened when he left the arena. He didn't see when Antonio confronted Francis in Lovino's defense, after the match or when he held him against a wall and demanded to know what he did, or when Gilbert showed up and displayed the same anger, and no one saw when Alaric pulled Romulus aside and laid out the truth: That he had guilted Francis into placing horrible memories into, not only Lovino's, but Feliciano's head, too.

The only thing he saw was Lovino crying frustrated tears just outside the arena. He cautiously approached the boy, knowing Lovino was at his most volatile when he was defenseless. When he saw Matthew he wiped his face and tried to give him a reassuring smile, but Matthew knew better, and he knew he did.

"Why-" His smile fell and his eyes began to water again as Matthew pulled him into a hug.

"It doesn't matter. You're still my hero, Lovi. Do you remember all the times you risked your life to protect me? Even in the arena, when you were having an episode, you asked for me. It's okay if he doesn't want you to be a hero and if you're not an official hero." Lovino chuckled lightly.

"You're such a mushy bastard, get off of me," Lovino murmured, making a weak attempt to shrug him off.

"Let's go home, I'm tired."

"Aren't they going to announce the heroes and captains?"

"It's okay, it doesn't matter anymore."

* * *

 **Alrighty! So there's that :D! The Tournament is over, I'll probably reveal the heroes as the next chapter go along, if not... I'll figure it out :D! Anyway~ I feel like a holiday just passed, but I can't remember which one... Oh! I hope you guys had a good Halloween :D! I didn't do much because my classes end at 7 at night, and if I take the bus I get home at 9, so I mean... yeah... I just stayed home and watch AHS... It's almost time for the elections or whatever it's called, I dunno XD. Are you guys excited :D? I'm horrified tbh. I'm talking too much about things that have nothing to do with this story XD. Anyway, there's like a bunch of new superpowers I gotta add so I should get to it XD.**

 **Superpowers** :

 **Lien Chung Age 18: superhumanly acrobatic**

 **Mei** **Xiao Age 18: empathic power randomization  
**

 **Im Yong Soo Age 18:imagination manifestation**

 **Toris Laurinaitis Age 18: Telepathy and Telekinesis**

 **Jett Kirkland Age 18: Animal communication, animal morphing, enhanced senses**

 **Feliks Łukasiewicz Age 18: Earth Manipulation**

 **Heracles Karpusi Age 18: Empathy, superhuman strength, endurance, and reflexes, psychic weapons**

 **Natalya** **Arlovskaya Age 18:** **sonic screech, superhuman reflexes, agility, and speed**

 **Michelle** **Mancham Age 18:** **water breathing, water manipulation, superhuman stamina, endurance, and agility**

 **Kiku Honda Age 18: Mimicry, power enhancement**

 **Emil Steilsson Age 18: Weather manipulation, superhuman speed, stamina, and reflexes, levitation**

 **Nikel Anderson (Luxembourg) Age 10: Amalgamation ( the ability to fuse things with one's self or each other)**

 **Leopold Edelstein (Kugelmugel) Age 8: hard light constructs, superhuman agility and reflexes**

 **Marcello Vargas (Seborga) Age 12: atomic manipulation**

 **Wendy Kirkland (Wy) Age 11:telepathy, telekinesis, psionic blasts**

 **Lili Zwingli Age 12: animal communication, superhuman endurance, agility, and reflexes**

 **Peter Kirkland Age 12: Shapeshifting, superhuman endurance, reflexes, and agility**

 **Elizabeta Héderváry Age 29: nature manipulation**

 **Matthew Williams Age 17: Invisibility, teleportation, intangibility**

 **Mathias Køhler Age 32: forcefield generation, energy blasts, superhuman strength and endurance**

 **Berwald Oxenstierna Age 32: Adamantine body armor, absorption, superhuman strength, endurance, and reflexes**

 **Lukas Bondevik Age 32: Astral projection, summoning, telepathy, energy blasts**

 **Tino Vainamoinen Age 30: duplication, echolocation, superhuman reflexes and agility, healing factor**

 **Alfred F. Jones Age 17: Superhuman strength, agility, endurance, stamina**

 **Feliciano Vargas Age 18: Superspeed, healing factor, superhuman stamina**

 **Francis Bonnefoy Age 27: illusion, possession, power neutralization**

 **Alaric Beilschmidt (Germania): superhuman strength, flight, telepathy, reduced aging**

 **Romulus Vargas (Ancient Rome): Superhuman strength and endurance, flight, reduced aging**

 **Lovino Vargas Age 18: Fire and heat manipulation, infrared vision**

 **Antonio Fernandez Carriedo Age 26: animal communication, animal morphing, enhanced senses**

 **Leon Wang (Hong Kong) Age 18: portal creation, superhuman speed, agility, and strength**

 **Ludwig Beilschmidt Age 17: elemental transmutation, superhuman endurance and strength**

 **Gilbert Beilschmidt Age 27: disintegration, superhuman endurance, agility, and stamina**

 **Eduard Von Bock Age 28: superhuman tracking, technopathy, electric manipulation**

 **Bella Anderson Age 26: Animation, superhuman strength, reflexes, agility**

 **Katyusha Braginskya Age 25: Healing, Superhumanly acrobatic, plant manipulation**

 **Liam Kirkland Age 18: Animal communication, animal imitation (different from animal morphing in that one only takes on an ability of an animal, not its appearance)**

 **Erland Oxenstierna Age 10: Technopathy, superhuman senses (he's still young and awakened his powers later than a full blood mutant, so he might develop more on the way, but not now)**

 **Lucille Merimée Age 18: accelerated probability, subconscious telekinetic probability manipulation, superhuman agility**

 **Lars Anderson Age 28: probability manipulation, superhuman strength, speed, agility, and senses**

 **Reviews:**

Red-Hot Habanero: I feel you XD. I'm the same way, like I will never feel comfortable writing full on Romanada, but just hinting at it- I can't help it XD. They seem like they'd have so much in common! but at the same time, PruCan and Spamano are like, the cutest ships XD. I'm sorry for taking you down with me XD.

Thank you so much! I was a little iffy about those two things because, I mean, for one, I am not experienced in action scenes and superhero action scenes- forget about it, ya know XD? But I still wrote this because I couldn't help it XD, so I just gotta put up with it. The thing with Tino really doesn't have a lot of detail because I couldn't find a way to casually squeeze it all in there, but maybe later XD?

ANYWAY! Yup! Here's the Tournament, I hope it was up to your standards XD.

 **Oh! Whoops! I forgot to say that since Lovino and Matthew left early they missed the match between Heracles, Sadiq, and Neoklis Kyriakou/Cyprus (They have gravity manipulation and mind** **exchange respectively) and Liam, Jett, and... well shit... I could've sworn I had a third one... I totally did have a third one...** **THE HUTT RIVER! Okay!** **Dwight Kirkland Age 18: supernatural dominion, which is actually a really huge power where an individual can tap into a mystical force that only they can use and they can do anything from summoning creatures, to armor and weapons, and** **can even produce the raw energy as a weapon. Flashy magic for a flashy Kirkland, yes :D?** **Anyway, sorry I'm so disorganized XD! It would make me very happy if you reviewed, favorited, followed, and stuff :D! Thanks for reading~. (Man, look at that list of superpowers... I'm really just throwing everyone in there, aren't I?)**


	17. Chapter 17

Alaric was seated in his office working late into the hours of the night, now nearly morning. He needed to fill out the hero licenses, which needed to be sent and approved by the United Nations as soon as possible, but with the astonishing number of graduates this year, it had been a very tiresome task, especially since Romulus continued to be difficult, leaving him to do it himself.

In truth, a part of him wanted to apologize. He was his oldest friend, and, on occasion, his lover, and they had been mostly arguing for months. He missed seeing him smile, the powerful, joyous laugh, and even the hard slaps on his back when he would congratulate him on some menial tasks he had accomplished, but if he wasn't going to yield, neither would Alaric. Besides, he had no reason to apologize. Romulus had been ruling to his tastes and whims for centuries now, and it wasn't fair. He looked through the paperwork, newly angered at the missing licenses of Lovino and Feliciano. If he could, he would have filled out some for them, too, but each license needed his and Romulus's signature.

As he pondered what could be done to give the boys the title they deserved, there was a sharp knock on the door. With a raised brow, Alaric looked from it, to the clock just above. 3:23 a.m., much too late for it to be a student, especially after yesterday's excitement. It wasn't Romulus, he showed no sign of a change of heart, or regret over what he had done. Maybe... Yao? No. He had sent him away. He needed to stay away until it was all over.

Until it was all over... a part of him knew who it was, but refused to believe it.

"Come in." The door opened with a foreboding, sinister creak as an older man in a suit stepped in, all smiles, followed by armed soldiers, each garbed in heavy, black protective gear. Alaric stood slowly in his chair, dropping the work he had in his hands.

"What is this? You weren't given leave to return. It was a one time visit to assure you that our institution was not a danger to yo-"

"Oh, believe me, Alaric, we didn't think it was. Quite on the contrary," he took another step in, "we think it could be quite useful. We think these _children_ should be returned to their countries, and trained as soldiers. Wouldn't they just be quite the game changers?" Alaric took an appalled step back, but quickly recovered.

"You can't pit them against each other, they have know each other for years! They have studied together, played together, lived together! They _won't_ fight for you or anybody else."

"Of course they won't. Not with you or Romulus around, and not before we... _convince_ them that this is the right thing at one of our labs. We would also need to, how do I put this... Study their abilities more efficiently, maybe figure out how they're made with the less useful ones, the less compliant ones."

Alaric took another step back as the men stepped further in the room. It was what he and Romulus had always feared; It was something that they had known would happen if it came to this, and yet, hearing it now was different than having only thought of it. He wasn't supposed to resist. It was the safest way, the easiest way of saving the others and restoring the academy, and yet... No, he couldn't stand down, he needed to fight, he could stop them, and even if he couldn't, less lives would be lost. But, as if reading his thoughts, Alaric was shot with an immobilizing amount of electricity the second his fingers twitched.

His body convulsed as it was sent crumpling to the ground. Around him, he heard movement, but was unable to see the cause. A gun was reloaded, that he heard. He also heard two sets of footsteps approach, then he saw them.

A man smiling arrogantly, and a gun in his face. "It's a shame to have to do this, Alaric. You would have been an interesting specimen to study alive. It's not every day you meet a man older than most countries."

Alaric closed his eyes. He knew what was coming.

 _Romulus, I'm sorry. Sound the alarms, don't go down without a fight. We need to protect them._

Seconds later, a loud screech and a red light filled the room, as it would every other. He heard someone curse, and smiled a bit. These were his children, his, Romulus's, and Yao's, whether it was literal or figurative, they had raised them, and they wouldn't go down easily, either.

* * *

Lukas and Mathias sat up in their bed. The Founder's alarm continued to screech, then the hospital wing's alarm, then the children's unit alarm, and finally, Edward's. This wasn't a drill, or small scale, or even a concentrated problem, it was a full blown attack on the island.

They quickly pulled themselves out of bed, not bothering to change as they both ran into Emil's room. The boy was sitting up, confused and a little dazed.

"Lukas, Mathias, what's going on? Why are the alarms going off? In a drill, it's just the Founde-" Lukas whispered something to Mathias, that sent him running out of the room, then turned his attention to Emil. His eyes were kept calm, even when his hand shook as he approached his brother.

"Th-this isn't a drill, is it, Lukas." It wasn't a question. He knew his brother too well.

"I need you to get up, Emil."

"B-but how-" Mathias reappeared, a card in his hand. He passed it to Lukas, looking too grim.

"Take this, and find Alfred." Lukas pressed it into Emil's hand, and was about to stand, when he realized that Emil wasn't letting go.

"You're not coming?"

"I need to sta-"

"Go with him, Lukas." Mathias had a hard look on his face. The look that said he was speaking as the captain of their team, and not his closest friend, or even his lover of more than ten years.

"Wha- Don't be stupid, Mathias. I'm not leaving you behind to fight by yourself."

"I can't make sure I'll be able to protect you if you stay-"

"I don't need you to protect me. You're wasting time, we need to go help the others." Lukas tried to shove past him, but was stopped by a tight grip on his arm.

"You can't protect him if you stay." Lukas faltered slightly, turning back to Emil, who was now standing, watching them with fearful eyes. Lukas and Mathias were the only family he'd really known. His parents died when he was younger as a result of Lukas's powers, which made the man dote on him excessively. He had even begged for Emil to be allowed to stay on the island when he had shown no promise of superhuman abilities, along with Mathias. The two of them had raised him from a young age, and even now were acting as parents.

"No. It's best for him and everybody if I help hold this place down until he and the others can get to safety."

"Then, I'll stay, too-" Emil wasn't allowed to finish his declaration. Despite him now being a hero, and having full control of his abilities, he was still the small child they had raised together.

" _No,"_ Mathias and Lukas said in unison. Just then, a large crash came from the direction of the front door. The two older men stepped in front of Emil protectively. Footsteps could be heard spreading throughout their living space and into each room. Each figure was tense as they held their breath, when a dull light appeared on the wall beside them. From it emerged Leon, panting and scuffed up. He was still in his night clothes like the other three.

"Leon-" a crash collapsed the door between Emil and his family and the reason the alarms had sounded.

Mathias was the first to act, placing a glowing blue defense between his family and the outsiders. Lukas took that opportunity to shift his attention to Leon.

"Leon, take Emil and find Alfred. Emil has the key for our craft. Get as many people to safety as you can." The boy gave a small nod, looking between the two brothers. He took Emil's hand, but it was quickly snatched away.

"No, you can't do this, Lukas. I'm staying with you-" The shield began to waver as shocks of electricity ran through it.

"Get him outta here!" Mathias roared, straining to keep the shield up. Lukas turned his back to his brother, refusing to discuss the topic any further. Black figures rose from the ground surrounding Lukas as the air around him became charged with energy.

Leon continued to tug on him, trying to move him, but Emil stayed in place, whether it was stubbornness that kept him from moving, or the shock of an actual attack happening before his eyes, he didn't know. The shield collapsed, leaving the two seasoned heroes only their offensive attacks against three times as many men as them.

The sky was out of sight, and Emil could do nothing but watch as they fought, no longer registering Leon's stronger pulls as the scene before him unfolded and grew blurry as tears ran down his cheeks and all the sound around him faded away.

He didn't hear Mathias scream as he lunged at the man who had stepped too close to his brother, causing another to shoot him with an electrical charge. His body convulsed, then went rigid and crumbled like a doll. Lukas quickly made a motion with his hand, telling them to leave, before the same happened to him.

That was all Emil saw before he was tugged harshly through the wall. Leon supported his weight as he collapsed into a sobbing heap on the ground. He pulled him up and weaved his way through the school until he reached an escape route just below the staircase.

"Leon, please, we have to go back. We can't leave them there. Please. You can't just-" he stopped seeing the way Leon was regarding him.

He was staring at him with something akin to pity in his eyes. He knew how awful he must have looked: diishevelled, tears running down his face, red eyed, and worst of all, begging to return for a lost cause, pretending they would still be there, or that two newly graduated heroes would stand a chance when two weathered ones didn't.

"Will we at least get them back?" he asked, voice quiet, scared to hear the answer. Leon didn't hesitate; he kissed his forehead and cradled his face in his hands, looking into his tear filled eyes.

"I promise we will, but we need to get out first. We need to find Alfred. Do you still have the key?" Emil sniffed, rubbing his eyes, and nodded. He had been holding on so tight there were imprints in his hands.

Leon smiled and kissed his cheek before taking his hand and leading him the rest of the way.

* * *

A loud crash was what awoke Matthew from his sleep. He rubbed his eyes and plucked his glasses from his nightstand, adjusting them on his face. It was barely 3:25, according to the glowing numbers on the clock.

There was another crash, this time much closer to his door. He grabbed his stuffed bear, holding it tightly against his chest and backed into the wall.

Another crash.

He shut his eyes and pressed as far back into the wall as he could, until it disappeared and he found himself sprawled on the floor of the adjoining room. Alfred was staring down at him, fully alert. He ran over to his brother and picked him up off the ground as easily as Matthew picked up his bear.

"Al, what's-" The red screeching of the founder's alarm went off, then the hospital wing's, followed by the child's sector's, and then, the loudest, Edward's.

"We need to get out of here." Alfred's facial features had grown serious, and his stance was stiff. There was none of the usual playfulness in his voice, which told Matthew that something was seriously wrong.

He turned his hardened gaze to Matthew. "Can you get us out of here?" Matthew could only dumbly nod and hold out his hand for Alfred to take, which he did, keeping his bear tightly grasped in his other hand.

When they got past Alfred's door, they found Berwald fighting off the men in close range, while Tino was spread throughout the house, shooting any and every man with the aim to kill. He hadn't missed once, but he was bound to run out of bullets, and so many of his clones had already collapsed and returned to the original, who was panting, and slumped behind the couch, a red streak running down his arm with a gun lying next to him.

He saw them before Berwald did, if he could at all, and waved them over.

Matthew quickly glanced around to see if his form had given out, but no one else seemed to notice them. The two crouched beside their parent. His sleeve was torn, but any trace of injury had vanished, reminding Matthew of his ability. He had a sad look in his eyes at the sight of them. Not fearful, or worried, just incredibly sad, as if he never expected to see them again.

"Alfred, gather up any students you find, too many of the heroes will stay and fight, and not enough will be willing to fly the jets when their home is being attacked. I'm sure many have already taken whoever they could, without filling the plane to it's capacity. It can fly with 12, please try and get that many, and find your cousin and Peter and Erland- make sure they're safe." His voice was hushed, but not on purpose. It seemed that all the copies had drained his energy, and each one that collapsed was another blow.

He turned to Matthew, smiling slightly at the bear he had in his arm, before returning his attention to the situation at hand. "I need you to fight. Protect your brother and your friends. You're a hero, too."

"Berwald!" All around the room the voices echoed as the man was finally brought down, a mixture of exhaustion and the accursed electricity that had fallen so many heroes. Tino's eyes widened, then watered.

"Go." He said in an urgent tone.

He picked up the gun and stood on shaky legs. He fired once. Hit. Twice. Hit. The third time wasn't his shot, and he fell, like all the others.

Alfred dragged Matthew up, and rushed out of the room, running towards the children's section.

* * *

Lovino was wide awake when it happened. He had thought about it all night and decided that he was sick of it. He was sick of that Romulus bastard and his shitty attitude when it came to him, and he was damn well going to ask him what his problem was- Except... the rooms began to glow bright red and an awful high pitched ringing bounced off the walls, followed by another, and another, and another, one after another so it was a long endless stream of noise. The urgency of it made his heart pound, especially when he saw Romulus bounding up the steps towards him, and yet, he didn't even look at him.

In his loud, billowing voice he let out a powerful call. "Gilbert!"

The man in question was out of his room in an instant. His back was straight, face serious, his figure imposing. He was the team captain he used to be.

"Get Lovino out of here, and get Marcello and Feliciano to safety." Ludwig and Feliciano were both out of their rooms in a matter of seconds. Feliciano clung to Ludwig, panic evident on his face, while the other was expressionless.

Gilbert nodded briefly and took Lovino by the arm as the other boys rushed to the nearest escape route. Lovino continued to squirm, trying to pull away from Gilbert as he looked back to Romulus. The man simply stood at the foot of the steps, watching the door, as if he was waiting for something. The sirens continued to blare and the room continued to flash red. He looked in front of him to find that Feliciano was doing the same, although he had a much harder time in Ludwig's iron grip.

A loud crash from the front door had three of the boys turning, surprisingly, it was Gilbert who was not distracted and who kept them moving forward. Even as Romulus crushed men's skulls underfoot, or threw them across the wide expanse of the entryway, or as the house began to fall to ruins. And especially after Romulus fell protecting Lovino from a hit meant to keep their group from escaping.

The boy stood locked in place as it grew nearer and nearer. It was all he could see: A bright blue surge, like the ones from before. His body began to tremble at the memories, before a large form was in front of him, and then just at his feet. Nobody had ever stopped the electricity, he thought dumbly, completely unaware of his new surroundings.

He couldn't do anything but stare as Feliciano began to scream, and had to be carried the rest of the way by Ludwig to keep him from doing anything stupid. He thrashed and cried and screamed and kicked as his grandpa lay motionless a few feet away. Gilbert had picked up Lovino, who was stark white and frozen in shock.

Ludwig threw open the door and ran through, followed by Gilbert, who quickly shut the iron wall behind him. The last thing Lovino saw as he peeked over Gilbert's shoulder, and the last thing he heard through the deafening blare of the sirens, and the hum of his own blood pulsing was a shot.

Ludwig stopped a few feet into the route and set Feliciano down. The boy was quickly back at the entrance, and had to be wrestled away by Ludwig and Gilbert with an impressive amount of difficulty, before he collapsed and sobbed hysterically into his hands.

Ludwig was quickly at his side, embracing the boy as he clung to him. He whispered words of comfort and rubbed his back as Gilbert looked away, fists clenched. Tears began to dot the corners of his eyes, but he couldn't break down now. Not when Romulus had instructed that he protect the boys.

"We have to go. Carry him if you have to, but we can't stay here."

Ludwig nodded. He first tried to urge Feliciano to move on his own, but the boy refused, shaking his head furiously, and trying to make his way back to the entrance. Ludwig bent closer and whispered something in the boy's ear that made his tears lessen. He looked up to Ludwig and nodded weakly. He hesitated for a moment, but quickly sent him a small smile, and kissed him tenderly on his forehead as he picked him up.

Gilbert nodded and was about to continue forward when he noticed that Lovino was in the same spot he had set him down, staring blankly at the ground. He gently placed a hand on the boy's arm and lifted his head.

"Lovino?" His gaze was distant. "Hey, Lovi? I need you to be okay for us to keep going. Are you okay?"

The boy nodded mechanically, then blinked quickly and slowly looked up at Gilbert. "Why did he do that? I wasn't... supposed to mean anything to him- He would have been okay- No. No!" Lovino tightly gripped his hair as tears started streaming down his face. "Why did he do that?! I- After everything! All the scolding and lying and- and- he- the Tournament- I shouldn't have mattered! I _don't_ matter, I'm not _real_! Why did he-" Lovino's head snapped to the side.

Feliciano had dropped down from Ludwig's arms and slapped his brother. Lovino stilled his hysterical rambling and looked up, shocked.

"Stop- _Stop saying that._ That you didn't matter, that you're not _real_. You're the only one who believes that anymore! You worked so hard to convince people that you are, and you can't even believe it yourself! Stop it! Grandpa... he was so smart, so strong. If he gave up his life, it wouldn't have been for someone who he didn't think was real or who he didn't think mattered, so if you think you aren't real and don't matter, then you tell me right now because I'll kill you myself for wasting his life!" Ludwig pried Feliciano off of Lovino when he began to shake him. The boy stood still, opening and closing his mouth, not knowing what to say. His hands dropped from his head.

"He cared?" He finally managed to squeak out. It was more of a realization than a question.

Feliciano nodded glumly.

"You- you weren't the only one he had Francis put under an illusion during the tournament. I had felt it before, when I was younger? I got scared. I held onto Ludwig... You- what you did, what you went through was worse, and your powers are more dangerous. Nobody noticed when I started to cry except for Ludwig, and ... he thought I was scared because of you. I'm not a hero because the others took one look at me and thought I couldn't handle the pressures of a mission...

"He was scared something would happen to us. He didn't want us to go, we were his closest living relation. They had almost all died once before... Yao told me, he said it would be important some day. He said he tried to keep the last living one here. Like you... like me, but he got mad, and left. It was why he was so happy when he found me. He was mad when they found you, but he grew to value you. It's why he did it. He didn't want you to get hurt out there.

"You- you're so much like him, Lovi. He didn't treat you more coldly. He treated you more maturely. He could never scold me because of what he had already done to me." Feliciano pulled his brother forward into a hug. "He loved you so much, Lovi." Lovino held onto him for dear life, letting himself cry. After a few minutes, Gilbert's voice broke through the silence.

"We need to go to the children's section and get Marcello." Lovino and Feliciano pulled apart, sniffling. Gilbert gave them a small sympathetic smile before he continued to lead the group towards their destination.

* * *

Alfred and Matthew arrived first, not having to resort to using the winding escape routes to get there, then came Emil and Leon, and finally, Gilbert and his party. Just a short while away, Elizabeta and Roderich were fighting, but there was no clear answer as to what was happening within the walls of the building.

Alfred crashed through the doors, clearing a path for the others. They ran through the two entrances and into the main area. When they got to the lobby, there was a large fire enveloping the area, with a few figures at the center. Lovino quickly cleared the flames to find Arthur fighting alone against thirteen opponents, although the bodies scattered around him told that there had been much more than that.

His movements were sluggish and his spells and curses didn't have as much of an impact as they should have. Gilbert quickly jumped in at the sight, taking advantage of their distraction, and disintegrating the men in seconds. He was banned from using his powers in most circumstances, but he knew that now really wasn't the time to be holding back. Lovino stared in awe, never having seen him display his powers, while the others were surprised that he was using them again. Arthur turned, clearly alarmed and ready to attack, but sighed in relief when he caught sight of them.

"Find the kids, get them out of here! Elizabeta and Roderich won't last much longer on their own, and they outnumber us gr-" He convulsed and collapsed, his fallen figure revealing that more men had arrived.

" _Scheiße_! _Gehen_ \- _Was_?" Gilbert faltered a bit as he realized that the telepathic translation had been cut, but didn't think about it long. He turned to kill off the first arrivals and ran to pick up Arthur's unconscious body. Alfred quickly stepped forward to take it from him, holding it close. He pointed to the nearest escape route, signalling for them to go on without him.

"No, we can't do that! You have to come with us!" Gilbert looked away, turning his attention to the hole in the wall, waiting for the next round of enemies.

Matthew looked to the others who were already beginning to head towards the escape route. He began to tear up, but wasn't going to let go so easily. He went up to Gilbert and tugged at his arm, in a weak attempt to bring him along. Gilbert looked back at him, a little surprised that he would try to force him.

He smiled sadly at him and brought a hand to caress his cheek.

" _Sei vorsichtig_ ," he said, kissing the boy's forehead. Tears began streaming down his face as he realized that Gilbert really wasn't going with them.

When another crash sounded from outside, Lovino began tugging him away, pointing upstairs. Matthew wiped his tears and nodded. He paused for a moment, then ran back to Gilbert, gave him a light peck on the lips and stepped back.

" _Please_ , you need to be careful. You can't die. If you die... please don't die." Matthew didn't think he would understand him, but when he sent him an arrogant smirk, he knew at least some of the message had gotten across. He gave a soft laugh and made his way over to Alfred.

"Take Arthur and the others into the escape route; Lovino and I will be there with the kids in a second, okay?" Alfred looked like he was about to argue, but a second crash and the first indication of approaching figures had him ushering the others into the escape route and wishing them good luck.

Leon tore away from the group, and approached the two boys, looking back to Emil and giving him a small wave telling him to keep going.

"I... can go, too?" Lovino and Matthew looked to each other and nodded.

Both boys took Matthew's hand and were in the children's dorms gathering them in seconds. All of them had gathered around Peter, who was trying to keep a straight face as the others cried and shook in fear. He was hardly much better, voice shaking as he tried to comfort them, and jumping when the three boys appeared.

Lovino scanned the area for any more children, shaking his head when he found none. The children screamed as a man in army gear ran up the stairs, gun loaded and ready to take aim, but relaxed mildly when a panther, larger than the man jumped at him and began to tear him apart.

"Antonio?" The creature stiffened, but otherwise paid them no mind as it guarded the stairs. Lovino attempted to approach him, but froze when he let out a vicious snarl. He hesitated, but moved forward again, much to Matthew's distress.

"Lovino! We need to go!" Antonio heard the urgency in his tone, and turned in an attempt to scare Lovino back to his group, unwilling to let his guard down completely and turn back to tell him to go back in his human form. Even if he did, with all those who could establish a proper communication incapacitated, he wouldn't understand him much, anyway.

" _Non ho paura. Si prega di venire con noi. Non posso perdere anche voi._ " Lovino reached out a hand to him, even as the beast began to growl menacingly. His ears perked up as he heard movement on the stairs. The beast raised a gigantic paw and brought it down on Lovino's outstretched arm, eliciting a loud, agonized cry from the boy. His hand shook as blood began to stream down his arm, and he took a horrified step back.

Matthew quickly brought him over, just as men clambered up the stairs and diverted Antonio's attention. There were too many, Lovino quickly noticed, but it was too late. Matthew had them downstairs, in front of the door in seconds. Just beside them, Gilbert and Francis were fighting more soldiers.

Leon opened a small portal and helped rush the children in, sending any surges of electricity that came towards them in another direction. He continued to guard them when Matthew, who had to drag Lovino, and keep himself from looking to Gilbert passed through. He glanced back for a moment to see that most of the men had taken aim at each other, no doubt under Francis's influence, before he quickly stepped through the portal and shut it behind him.

They ran through to catch up with the others, who were relieved at the sight of them and all the children, safe and sound. Emil ran up to Leon and embraced him as Peter scurried over to Arthur, who was currently in Alfred's arms. After briefly checking everyone over, they continued to the hangers where a few heroes and students were being loaded into jets.

Tino was right, none of them were being filled to capacity. Some only carried three, some had six, at the most they had eight. Alfred looked over his party: Ludwig, Feliciano, Arthur, Emil, Leon, Matthew, Lovino, Nikel, Peter, Erland, Lili, Marcello, Wendy, himself.

That was too many, and Matthew noticed it, too

"A craft won't carry all these people."

"I-I'll carry Arthur with me, a-and-"

"You know that's not the problem, Alfred!"

"They're kids! They won't weigh much! Of course it will fly!"

"And if it doesn-"

"I'm not leaving anybody behind, dammit! I'm- I'm supposed to be a hero." He held Arthur closer to his chest before his face hardened. "Hurry up, we have to go!"

Nearly all of the academy's crafts were gone, those that remained had nobody to fly them, with the exception of Alfred and Arthur, and Arthur wasn't even stirring.

"Fuck!" Everyone froze. "I don't have the _fucking key_! Mattie can you-"

"Emil has it" everyone's attention shifted over to Leon, who was trying to explain to the white haired boy what he needed. He pointed from Emil, then to the ship, then held out his hand. The boy watched as he repeated the gestures a few times in frustration before he understood and ran over to the craft, inserted the card, and opened the door.

Everyone quickly filed in as debris began to fall from the enclosed ceiling. Alfred sat down in the captain's seat, gently resting Arthur on his lap. He began flipping switches, causing the huge vessel to stir awake with a purr. He turned back to find that everyone had their own seat with the exception of himself, and Ludwig and Feliciano, who were sharing.

Emil was tending to Lovino's hand as Leon and Matthew hovered over them. He was bleeding, but not as profusely as he could have been. Lovino was still looking like he would burst into tears any second, but it wasn't from the pain.

Explosions could be over head as the plane started to lurch forward. A particularly large piece of rubble crack the windshield, partially blinding Alfred's line of vision. The collapsing walls of the cave crashed against their craft causing incessant, loud thuds that concerned Alfred, who hop ed that no particularly large obstruction would fall in front of their plane to impede it's movement, or that they would even be able to get out before it collapsed. All the pressure from the crying children, to the pounding of the rocks on the ship were working Alfred's nerves thin. He looked back again to find that the four boys were still out of their seat, even as the plane was about to rise of the ground.

"Sit down!" he growled in frustration. Matthew and Leon quickly escorted their companions to a seat, and locked themselves in. The older boys leaned over to check on all the younger ones, tightening their restraints, and buckling them for some of the ones who couldn't figure out how.

The sleek ship sped down the track and out of a small opening to reveal the chaos that was prevalent all around the island: The school was in ruins, the arena had been completely leveled, along with many of the small shops and places of entertainment. The dorms had also been mostly destroyed, and the Founder's house couldn't even be seen.

Had it been only those things, then the sorrow on the ship wouldn't have been as great; they could be rebuilt, but the island was ablaze, the founders were dead, and so many heroes, friends and family alike, were gone. Most of the kids were quiet, unable to believe what had happened, while a few, Leopold, Wendy, Marcello and Lili, were crying. Peter was incessantly shaking his leg, trying to look over Alfred's chair at Arthur, and Erland was stubbornly resisting tears. The only one who appeared to remain calm was Nikel, who knew of his brother's near limitless powers, and was able to convince himself that he wouldn't let anything bad happen to them.

The plane lurched to the right as Alfred attempted to steer away from attacks, both from the sky and ground. At least 10 crafts flanked his, and other academy ships, firing in an attempt to get them to land, and hovering just enough above them to keep them from flying any higher and hiding in the clouds. They had the advantage of having been in the sky and waiting first, and a few of the Academy's planes had already been shot down, while others struggled to stay up. Alfred wound through the shots, but was hit more than once, throwing the bodies of the passengers against their restraints.

He snarled in frustration as another hit the left wing. At this rate, they weren't going to be able to hold up. Emil unbuckled himself, and gestured for Matthew to do the same. Another rough dodge sent them crashing against the side of the ship, but Emil quickly stood and pointed upwards.

"For fuck's sake! I told ya to sit down!" Neither of the boys paid him any mind as they quickly disappeared. A small thumb could be heard on the roof, then a hand reached through and gripped the craft. Lovino and Leon quickly recognized what they were doing, and followed. Leon threw a portal as Lovino climbed his seat and jumped onto the top of the craft with the others. Leon quickly followed, leaving only a small opening between the inside of the craft and the cold night for him to keep them on the ship.

Emil was already beginning his attack, the clouds quickly beginning to gather, eyes dulled and glowing, and winds whipping around them. He held a hand to the sky, while the other was held flat out in front of him, aimed at an enemy plane. Leon repelled any attacks to their small group, or their plane in general, sending them in the direction of enemy planes. Lovino took the offensive as well, stalling long enough for the lightning to grow stronger. He began throwing flames at anything close enough for him to hit, forcing them into a defensive approach as they weaved away from his attacks.

A few lucky shots had actually downed some planes, but not enough. A large burst of light shifted the boys' attention from what they were doing as lightning struck Emil, who channeled it through his body and into his outstretched hand, shooting down the plane on their tail, left, above them, and all those around them with near no limit to his range.

Alfred caught onto what they were doing and steered boldly closer to other enemy planes. Emil quickly disposed of any and all aerial threats, and, on his cue, Matthew teleported them back onto the ship, followed by Leon and Lovino, who stumbled as they dropped in. It seemed to have grown much quieter now, as they were able to raise themselves out if the reach of the ground based attacks.

The other Academy crafts quickly dispersed, leaving their party alone.

* * *

 **Man, it has been a rough week, huh guys :0? Ugh, those elections e.e. God save the queen, am I right XD? Just kidding XD. I just got hired, I can't move XD. Although, being someone from California, my whole state wants to move, which I think is pretty funny. Not in any condescending way, more like things are getting interesting XD. Okay, anyway~ you guys can't say you didn't see this coming... Okay well maybe you didn't see some of it coming, like, you know, Romulus and Alaric dying, or maybe you did, cuz, you know, they're canonly dead... But look at all the ships I threw in XD! Only to break them apart... For like 4 of them... Sorry XD. Anyway~ story's almost over :D like,** **7 more chapters, and then you won't have to put up with my long, pointless author's notes XD. Speaking of which, I think I'm done here XD.**

 **Translation:**

 ** _Sheiße! Gehen- was?-_** Shit! go- what?

 ** _Sei vorsichtig_** be careful

 ** _Non ho paura. Si prega di venire con noi. Non posso perdere anche voi.-_** I'm not afraid. Please come with us. I can't lose you too.

 **Suoerpowers**

 **Lien Chung Age 18: superhumanly acrobatic**

 **Mei Xiao Age 18: empathic power randomization**

 **Im Yong Soo Age 18:imagination manifestation**

 **Toris Laurinaitis Age 18: Telepathy and Telekinesis**

 **Jett Kirkland Age 18: Animal communication, animal morphing, enhanced senses**

 **Feliks Łukasiewicz Age 18: Earth Manipulation**

 **Heracles Karpusi Age 18: Empathy, superhuman strength, endurance, and reflexes, psychic weapons**

 **Natalya Arlovskaya Age 18: sonic screech, superhuman reflexes, agility, and speed**

 **Michelle Mancham Age 18: water breathing, water manipulation, superhuman stamina, endurance, and agility**

 **Kiku Honda Age 18: Mimicry, power enhancement**

 **Emil Steilsson Age 18: Weather manipulation, superhuman speed, stamina, and reflexes, levitation**

 **Nikel Anderson (Luxembourg) Age 10: Amalgamation ( the ability to fuse things with one's self or each other)**

 **Leopold Edelstein (Kugelmugel) Age 8: hard light constructs, superhuman agility and reflexes**

 **Marcello Vargas (Seborga) Age 12: atomic manipulation**

 **Wendy Kirkland (Wy) Age 11:telepathy, telekinesis, psionic blasts**

 **Lili Zwingli Age 12: animal communication, superhuman endurance, agility, and reflexes**

 **Peter Kirkland Age 12: Shapeshifting, superhuman endurance, reflexes, and agility**

 **Elizabeta Héderváry Age 29: nature manipulation**

 **Matthew Williams Age 17: Invisibility, teleportation, intangibility**

 **Mathias Køhler Age 32: forcefield generation, energy blasts, superhuman strength and endurance**

 **Berwald Oxenstierna Age 32: Adamantine body armor, absorption, superhuman strength, endurance, and reflexes**

 **Lukas Bondevik Age 32: Astral projection, summoning, telepathy, energy blasts**

 **Tino Vainamoinen Age 30: duplication, echolocation, superhuman reflexes and agility, healing factor**

 **Alfred F. Jones Age 17: Superhuman strength, agility, endurance, stamina**

 **Feliciano Vargas Age 18: Superspeed, healing factor, superhuman stamina**

 **Francis Bonnefoy Age 27: illusion, possession, power neutralization**

 **Alaric Beilschmidt (Germania): superhuman strength, flight, telepathy, reduced aging**

 **Romulus Vargas (Ancient Rome): Superhuman strength and endurance, flight, reduced aging**

 **Lovino Vargas Age 18: Fire and heat manipulation, infrared vision**

 **Antonio Fernandez Carriedo Age 26: animal communication, animal morphing, enhanced senses**

 **Leon Wang (Hong Kong) Age 18: portal creation, superhuman speed, agility, and strength**

 **Ludwig Beilschmidt Age 17: elemental transmutation, elemental manipulation, superhuman endurance and strength**

 **Gilbert Beilschmidt Age 27: disintegration, superhuman endurance, agility, and stamina**

 **Eduard Von Bock Age 28: superhuman tracking, technopathy, electric manipulation**

 **Bella Anderson Age 26: Animation, superhuman strength, reflexes, agility**

 **Katyusha Braginskya Age 25: Healing, Superhumanly acrobatic, plant manipulation**

 **Liam Kirkland Age 18: Animal communication, animal imitation (different from animal morphing in that one only takes on an ability of an animal, not its appearance)**

 **Erland Oxenstierna Age 10: Technopathy, superhuman senses (he's still young and awakened his powers later than a full blood mutant, so he might develop more on the way, but not now)**

 **Lucille Merimée Age 18: accelerated probability, subconscious telekinetic probability manipulation, superhuman agility**

 **Lars Anderson Age 28: probability manipulation, superhuman strength, speed, agility, and senses**

 **Reviews:**

Red-Hot Habanero:

Chapter 15:

Yeah XD. Having written the characters to be like that, I'd like to think that Mattie has a bit if a crush on Lovi, but it's more admiration in his case, while with Gilbert it's a lot of crush mixed with admiration XD.

Thanks XD. I couldn't imagine a by-the-script, serious Gilbert doing the announcements XD. It's too... not him, and I had to have him do it because, I mean, he's trained all of the competitors, and he just seemed like the type to be like "My awesome self will totally blow the audience away with my equally awesome announcing skills" and just totally take control of it. I don't know XD, I'm sorry, but yes XD I have, I think I made it up to the Goblet of Fire before, you know, life XD. I loved his comments. "It was a joke, just joking professor" or wtvr he would say XD. I dunno, I do a bad Lee Jordan XD.

Chapter 16:

Yeah... second part of the tournament, too, but I wasn't writing in a perspective that could show that XD. I'd say I feel bad for him, but I'm technically the one who made him do it, so Ima just not XD.

Sorry :0. No go. Feliciano's fidgety behavior after it happened wasn't addressed much, even by Toris, and Lovino was the greater concern, so while it wasn't his fault, he was still decidedly mentally weak. As for Lovino, he still had breakdowns that weren't caused by illusions, and seeing the possible consequences of it was a little off-putting to the heroes. The majority ruled 'no.' Thanks so much for reviewing :D!

Matt-Kuro-Oliver:

Chapter 16:

Thank you soooooo much :D! You're too sweet XD. I'm really glad you like it :D.

 **Thanks for reading, following, favoriting, and stuff :D!**


	18. Chapter 18

Yao sat on a nearby tree watching as he had turned down Romulus and Alaric's offer for the first time, but definitely not the last. He would reject them again 5 years later, then 20 years later, then 50. Each time Romulus would come eager and never leave discouraged, and each time Yao would feel the tug to join a little bit harder within himself.

It was thousands of years ago, before the Roman empire had fallen, although the exact date had slipped his mind. He had been a healer in his village, and was beloved by his people for what he did for them. It was nice, he remembered, to be able to use his powers for some good without any concern over the bad. He had a family, too. They were long dead now, but his descendants were still there, and he loved them, too. Even if Leon had the tendency to mouth off, Kiku and Lien were a little distant, and Yong Soo and Mei were loud and rambunctious.

He laughed lightly as his past self froze time and ran off to his normal life. He hadn't known how to travel through space or time at the point, only how to stop, speed up, or slow it down. He also was able to briefly glance into the future, but it was such a fickle thing, and he hadn't learned how to weed out all the impossible outcomes at that point either, much like the Academy's clairvoyant students now. But in a hundred years he would develop all those skills, and in a hundred years he would be approached by Alaric and Romulus again. Then, too, his family would be dead and he would have moved villages when he found that he wasn't aging and people were growing suspicious.

He skipped 100 years into the future and found himself looking the same as he had only moments ago and the same as he did at the moment. Romulus and Alaric actually looked much younger, 20 years, as they would for a few thousand years more as they aged slowly to the present time's 40-ish look. He would look roughly 24 for the rest of his life, as that was when his powers had appeared.

He had never seen anything like himself, so when he saw them again he was shocked, but intrigued. He asked them how, but before he fully voiced his question, Alaric answered and told him their bodies aged at a much slower pace than that of other people, while Yao wouldn't age at all.

It was one of his more vivid memories, and here it was playing out before his eyes: He yelled at them, accused them of cursing him to such a life, revealing all his sorrow over his lost family and life. He accused them of being demons and devils and begged to know what he could do to return to a normal life. He had tried to kill himself, but he would heal almost immediately and he was scared and desperate at that point; he had been forced to leave his family and village, and every subsequent life he had until he had turned to living in isolation out of fear and desperation.

Powers weren't common then, and only about 11 people around the world had them then. Five women: one from Egypt, who could manipulate life and death and skilled in necromancy- he would ask her to kill him shortly after he had met her- a woman from Britannia who had powerful magic and who could see and talk to magical creatures, as well as create her own realities from pure imagination, a woman from Iberia who had strength, the ability to fly, and super speed. Another was from Greece and was able to read minds, as well as manipulate them to her will, and the last woman was one from Aesti who was able to change the form of anything without restriction. Then, it wasn't known what it was, but now it was the same ability that Marcello possessed: atomic manipulation. The woman could make animals from stones, and fruit from amber. It was a limitless power, but it was seen as witchcraft and she was killed early on, before Romulus and Alaric got to her.

The six men, excluding Romulus and Alaric and himself were from Gaul, Carthage, and Scandia. The first could manipulate the different elements, the second could transform into different animals and communicate with them, and the third was able to manipulate the weather. The men from Gaul and Carthage challenged and attacked Romulus when he invited them to join him, resulting in their death, while the one from Scandia and him coexisted in tension until the day he passed. After them, the faces became blurry. They were the founders of the academy, and the first generation of heroes.

Yao returned his attention to the current situation as his past self crumpled into a pitiful form and cried before the two men. Romulus lifted his head and gave him a warm smile, assuring him that his life would never be lonely again if he went with them; he remembered he had prayed to every god to lift his curse and standing there, over him, Romulus and Alaric looked like gods. He nodded his head without another word and went with them.

After that, he had watched different events, different generations, different arguments over the next six months, trying to get the most he could of his most prominent memories of the two men he had left for dead. He had watched the day that Romulus's heirs were all but extinct; They were killed by humans. Try as they may to become stronger, the older generations were mostly human. They had the same strength, speed, and agility as other humans. They had the same mortality, and they had almost all forgotten that. It wouldn't be for a while longer that the mutation would evolve.

A single one of Romulus's descendants was left, and he had intended to cage him in, along with the other heroes. He turned away from the problems of the humans, and refused to allow any of the others to help them. It was a few thousand years later, and any of the founders who could have opposed him were long dead, with their children locked into Romulus's care, and most of them were sick of it, but none more than Romulus's own descendant.

He inspired the superhumans to step out into the world, and many did leave with him, including a few of the Kirklands, whose blood was actually found in small amounts in many of the students in the academy in present day. They were a mixture of the Britannic founder and Alaric himself, two of the stronger bloodlines. Yao had traced the roots of Lukas, Mathias, Berwald, Jett, Alfred, Emil and Leon back to that line.

Romulus had tried to find him and his line for centuries, but a spell had been cast and he wouldn't find any of his relations until Antonio, Francis, Feliciano, and, finally, Marcello.

He watched as the two yelled at each other and as furniture was destroyed. It was the first time Romulus had been bested in a fight, and his mental state was dealt the finishing blow when he realized that he was really leaving. It was times like these he wished he could interfere, to do something to stop the coming depression that would loom over Romulus for centuries, but he couldn't. His past self did all he could, anyway.

He watched as he calmed the man with Alaric standing by, held him close, and told him about his descendants to come. Romulus didn't lighten up very much, but he gave a small smile and asked him if he knew what they would be like, and his past self gave him a warm smile and answered "Francis will need a lot of help and care, but when you give it to him, he'll bloom into a kind and flirtatious young man. Antonio will be passionate and cheerful, he'll almost always wear a smile on his face, but he will also be strong, and able to protect those he cares about... and Feliciano... he will be kind, happy, and energetic. He'll have many friends and prosper in this environment. He'll be strong, but weak. You need to be careful with him Romulus. You can't repeat what happened here today." Romulus nodded, but Yao knew his warning would be forgotten in the future, even if he didn't see it then.

He truly believed Romulus would treasure his descendants, and he was sincerely happy for him after having seen that particular vision, but he hadn't seen Lovino. The events that would lead to his creation hadn't happened yet. Not until Romulus locked away Ludwig and Gilbert destroyed a large portion of a city. Then, he would tell Alaric, but never Romulus.

The scene before him flickered and quickly rushed past him and a new one appeared.

"Alaric!" He burst into the man's office, where he was currently trying to find the source of the impulses that kept distorting their radars with Eduard. His equipment had shut off and even he was unable to get it running for days, but once it was back up, he worked with Alaric to track the source of such a large amount of energy. He quickly excused himself upon Yao's arrival, and shut the door behind him.

"What is i-"

"The school's going to be attacked. They're going to die. So many of them... so many of them are going to die." He didn't know what to do, even then, recollecting the vision that had caused all this made his eyes water. It made his past self shake and sob endlessly. He didn't want to lose another family, not in such a way.

"What are you saying...? That's not... possible. I need to get Romulus," Alaric started making his way to the door, but was quickly stopped. His past self steadied himself and spoke in a shaky voice, not meeting Alaric's eyes.

"You _can't_. It's his fault. Somehow, this is all his fault. It was fine, just having the spy, they didn't care enough, they just wanted to know what some of the students were capable of- it was fine. There was no harm in it, but now... It's getting closer and I saw it. Alaric they're going to attack the island."

Alaric watched him in horror. "What are you _talking about_? What spy? What- I mean- how could this be Romulus's fault and how would they even find the school?! Yao, you're not making any sense! I need you to explain! We can avoid this, somehow!"

"No, we can't. I tried to look for a way out, we all die, or some of us die, but either way people die and they lay waste to the island." He whimpered, looking down at his hands. Alaric gave a small sigh and helped him up and into a chair.

He took a deep breath and told him everything. He told him about Romulus's actions that led to this, the spy he had seen been sent, the two boys that would arrive on the island, followed by officials from different countries, and how it would all end in the death of some of the students. He had seen Mathias and Lukas die along with Berwald. Francis, Antonio and Gilbert would also die, and so many others. That was the vision with the least deaths.

Alaric had proposed rejecting to allow the visitors, but that had resulted in a war. He suggested they fight back, but that was where so many had died. He had also suggested that they refuse the spy, but Alaric quickly dismissed his own idea. They had lived by an acceptance of one another, and he didn't blame whoever it was for being used in such a cruel way, and Yao assured him that that was the wrong course of action as well. If they kept him, they would still attack, and then they would have the means to create their own superhumans, which would end in more death. Finally, he asked what would happen if him and Romulus were to risk their own lives instead of leaving with the students.

He looked up in shock and shook his head slowly. "No. No, you can't do that Alaric-"

"Who would die?" Yao hesitated for a moment, but after Alaric refused to waver, he focused on seeing those events play out.

"You, me, and Romulus. That's it," he looked down at his lap. He had wanted to die so many years ago, but now he found himself horrified at the thought of leaving the academy and the children behind. Without them, they wouldn't stand much of a chance, and Alaric saw that, too.

"You need to leave. Pack your things discretely, say goodbye to Romulus and leave."

"But why?! Why can't I ... go with you?"

"Yao... You haven't done nearly half the awful things Romulus and I have done. You don't deserve to die, and I don't want you here for anyone to discover you when the time comes."

"Not yet. Please, not yet. A month, give me a month. At least until the new students come. That's when it starts, and that's when I'll leave." Alaric scrutinized him, before giving a defeated sigh when he saw that he was going to stand his ground.

"Very well, but after that you need to leave. You can't come back until it's over. We have kept you a secret from the rest of the world on your request, we can't have them finding out about you now. You're currently the most dangerous among us, and have the rarest ability. Be safe, okay? Help them put everything back together when it's done."

Yao nodded and was at the door before Alaric stopped him again.

"Who was the spy?" Yao paused, resting his hand on the doorframe, but not turning back to look at the man as he answered.

"He doesn't deserve the treatment you would give him if I told you, and I hope you could be respectful enough to not intrude on my thoughts to learn his name."

"If that is what you want, then I will refuse myself the knowledge. Thank you, Yao, for everything."

"They need to save him, Alaric..." with that, he left the office. The boy's pained cries echoed in his head so loud he thought Alaric might accidentally hear it, but, if he did, he showed no sign of it.

Yao looked to the blurring sky. It was nearly time now. He could go to the remnants of his home soon, but this time, Romulus and Alaric wouldn't be there.

* * *

"Academy plane number 19770, Nordic Wolves' craft, currently 14 passengers aboard- all of the children. Does anyone copy, over?" There was only static coming from the radio.

"Please, somebody, we have all the children on board, one unconscious captain, and another passenger needs to have a wound properly treated, does anyone read me, over?" Nothing but static again.

"Will somebody fucking answer?! We don't know what to do, we're all new heroes, there are kids here, the only experienced hero is unconscious, there aren't even enough seats, our left wing is crapping out, and we don't have enough fuel to go on for much longer than a day!" Nobody else was awake as Alfred grew more and more desperate as he attempted to come into contact with any of the other survivors.

He had been going at it all night long and most of that day. He hadn't gotten a wink of sleep, and the pressure was crashing down on him.

When all that came through was more static, Alfred lost it.

"Fuck!" He raised his fist and was about to bring it crashing down against their communicator, but was stopped by a smaller, dantier hand.

Arthur sat up, still looking exhausted. "Don't be stupid, Alfred. You'll break it, then where would we be," he mumbled, rubbing his tired eyes.

"Y-you're okay... oh my god, you're okay." Alfred gave an incredulous laugh and pulled Arthur closer to himself.

The man blushed, squirmed, and yelped as the plane began nosediving at Alfred's lack of attention to the controls. He quickly grabbed hold of it, and smiled happily down at Arthur. Any of his previous agitation had vanished.

"Of course I'm okay, you bloody dolt! I just used too much of my magic is all... If it weren't for you and Gilbert showing up-" He looked around frantically. "Where is Gilbert?"

"He stayed behind to make sure we would be able to get out," Matthew answered, having woken up from Alfred's exclamation. Lovino was grumbling in Italian, most likely about having been woken up, in the seat beside him, and Ludwig, who had woken up as well, was making sure Feliciano was still sound asleep, but other than them, nobody else was awake.

"O-oh. Was he... alive when you-"

"Yeah."

"Then I wouldn't worry about it too much, lad. He'll be fine. Gilbert's a fighter after all." He sent Matthew a reassuring smile and nodded to Ludwig as well, who was only able to understand bits and pieces of their conversation. It was then that Arthur really seemed to notice the current situation.

"Not that I don't appreciate you bringing me along, Alfred, but you do recognize that these seats are made for a single person and that this plane should only hold up to twelve, right?" He was a bright shade of red, and refused to look at Alfred as he spoke.

Alfred laughed and rested his head on Arthur's shoulder. "You're not feeling shy, are you?"

Arthur scoffed and unbuckled himself in an attempt to escape the embarrassing situation. He walked around Alfred's seat and stood behind him, turning Alfred's head to face forward when he tried to look back at him.

"Who all made it out?" He asked cautiously. Alfred tensed again.

"I don't know, I can't get in touch with anybody." Arthur hummed in understanding and looked around once again.

"Whose jet is this?"

"The Nordics'." With that confirmation, Arthur turned to Peter, who was still sleeping. He gently shook the small boy awake.

Peter blinked lazily and rubbed his eyes with a pout. "What is it?" he yawned.

"Can you help me with something, Peter?" Peter's eyes widened at the voice and he took in the figure that was stooped in front of him.

"Y-you're alive..." He pulled Arthur into a hug and began apologizing. "I'm sorry, Arthur! I'm sorry I couldn't help you a-and- I-I'm sorry I yelled at you when Allistor and the others left. I didn't mean it, you weren't my least favorite. You were my favorite and I don't hate you, you always played with me until that happened, and I'm really sad that mom and dad got left behind, but I'm happy that you made it and you're here with me. Arthur, I'm sorry. I don't want you to die-" Peter's rambling was stopped as he began hiccuping, trying to hold his tears back.

"That's quite alright, Peter. I understand so there's no need for tears, okay? You can help me now. I need you to help me ask Erland if he can fix the communication device," Arthur said, wiping the tears that were beginning to run down the boy's face. Peter nodded eagerly and unbuckled himself.

Arthur made his way back next to Alfred and watched Peter wake the boy and try to explain to him what he wanted.

He turned to find Alfred watching him in awe.

"I- didn't think of that. I'm a captain, I should have thought of everything and I didn't think about something as simple as that," he laughed bitterly; "I said it _three fucking times_ over the radio that there were kids on board and not fucking once did it occur to me that any of them could help!"

Arthur was about to reply, but was distracted by Erland and Peter's approaching forms. He tapped at the radio and moved out of the way. Erland looked at him uncertainly, but with a soft smile and a nod, Arthur urged him forward. He closed his eyes, let out a sigh, and rested his hand over the device. The static cleared slowly and a woman's voice came through.

"Âllo? Âllo? Alfred, est-ce vous? Alfred? C'est l'Académie avion 90732 Capitaine Bella Anderson, vous copiez? Alfred? Est-ce que tout le monde va bien? Mon frére cadet est avec vous? Alfred, répondre s'il vous plaît. Je vais vous répéter les coordonnées de l'endroit où nous nous reverrons. Vengt sept point un trois deux quatre huit un Nord et soixante treize point zéro six cinq quatre huit Ouest."

Erland made a noise of excitement and smiled up at Peter. The boy ruffled his hair and the two made their way back to their seats, chattering excitedly, even though they didn't understand what the other was saying.

Arthur smiled approvingly at them and turned back to the device. "You wouldn't happen to speak French, would you?"

"No. I don't." Alfred said, glaring down at it.

"I only know bits and pieces, but I don't think I've regained enough of my magic to restore communication..." Arthur hummed in thought, then woke up Nikel and brought him forward tapping at the communicator again. He shook his head to say he didn't understand what they wanted him to do, but smiled happily when he heard his sister's voice come through.

She repeated her earlier statement, and Nikel pushed past Alfred and Arthur to the coordinate input, having played on an Academy plane before. He began tapping coordinates in rapidly as his sister repeated the numbers, and smiled at them when he was finished.

Arthur ruffled his hair, picked up the radio, and passed it to the boy. He tilted his head slightly to the side as if to ask if there was anything Arthur wanted him to do. Arthur shook his head.

"How does it go... um... _parler avec sœur?"_ _"Verdamment? Merci!"_

Bella had just started repeating her message again when he began to speak excitedly.

"Bella? Bella, c'est Tu? Ça vas bien? _Et Lars? Oh... non? C'est rien. Il sera bien."_ "Ten minutes awake and you've already accomplished more than I have in twelve hours. I'm probably the worst fucking captain of what's left in the Academy, and that's fucking saying something because as of now it's just you, me, Ludwig, and Bella, and Ludwig kept this damn thing flying with a busted wing." Arthur rested a hand on his shoulder.

"You're doing fine, love, you're just tired. Get some sleep."

"Don't treat me like a child, Arthur! I'm your equal now, not the kid you used to train or babysit-"

"I can be concerned over you whether you're a child or my equal, Alfred. Besides, ickle Alfred sounds like he's getting grumpy." Arthur smirked down at Alfred, who had been pouting over the course of their conversation.

He sneered and pulled away. "I'm not grumpy. I'm tired, and hungry, and pissed off about everything that happened. I'm sorry I wasn't unconscious like you, and actually saw the ruins our home was in."

"Alfred-"

"Everything was gone, Arthur. Mom, Dad, the arena, the dorms, the school, the Founders." Alfred's voice began to crack as he spoke. "There's nothing to go back to anymore. I don't even know where we can even start looking for the others. There was nothing I could do about it, nothing anybody could have done." He sounded so small at that moment, so helpless, and Arthur couldn't help but want to see his usual smile back.

"You've already said it yourself, love. There was nothing that could be done, which means you did much more than was possible. You saved all the kids, you saved who you could of your family, and you got them to safety. Be proud of that." He rested a hand on Alfred's cheek in an attempt to comfort him, and Alfred made no attempt to pull away again.

"But I couldn't save everyone-"

"You will never be able to save everyone, Alfred. It's harsh, but in our line of work, it's true. People die, people live, and you'll never be able to change a thing about it..." Alfred let out a shaky breath and leaned into Arthur's touch, resting a hand atop Arthur's.

"You're starting to sound like an old man, Artie-" He laughed lightly.

"Wh- I was trying to make you feel better, you git! It's not my fault you're still a brat! And furthermore, I'm much more experienced than you so I thought I woul-" Arthur paused when Alfred began laughing incessantly. He huffed in annoyance.

"And just what do you find so funny, Alfred?" He tugged at the other's cheek. Alfred continued to laugh, as he allowed the autopilot to take control and stood, turning to embrace Arthur.

"It's been so long." Arthur froze in his attempts to pull away.

"I suppose it has been, but we were both preoccupied. You had your training and the tournament, and I had my assignments. It couldn't be helped..." Arthur turned away. Matthew watched the scene unfold curiously, although he did nothing to remind the two of his, or anyone's, presence.

Beside him, Lovino had fully woken up, and was watching with mild interest. Matthew noticed that he was awake and pulled at his injured hand and unwrapped the bandages. He had expected at least three wide slashes, but was surprised when he saw that he only had three scratches. From the look on Lovino's face, he was shocked as well, but both quickly brushed it off. It must have been something in the bandages that accelerated the healing.

"You could have at least wished me good luck in the tournament," both boys turned back to the scene that was still unravelling before them.

"I was otherwise preoccupied, and when you were injured, Romulus and Alaric forbade anyone but-"

"Since when do you care?! It wasn't even then, if you had come during the intermission, or after the Tournament... why do you keep avoiding me?" Alfred attempted to look Arthur in the eyes, but the man turned away with a scoff.

"I'm not avoiding you-"

"Yes you are." Alfred grabbed his chin and gently turned him back to face himself. Arthur held a defiant look and pushed the boy's hands away.

"Well- what do you expect me to do?! Spend my time searching for you? Follow you around? Throw myself at you? Be reasonable, Alfred, we're both adults." Arthur attempted to walk away from the situation, but he knew he had nowhere else to go, and so did Alfred. He took hold of his arm and spun him back around to face him.

"Then look me in the eyes when you say it!" Arthur attempted to pull away, but Alfred didn't let him this time, not until he had an answer.

"I _can't,_ okay? Looking at you, period. I see you, and I see how much you've grown, and I even have to look up at you to look you in the eye and it's a constant bloody reminder that you're stronger than me, that you're bigger than me, and in a few years, you'll probably be smarter than me.

"I was the person you looked up to. I was so happy to be admired by someone! I didn't have the same physical enhancements everyone did, or that my brothers had, and was treated like I was weaker and it was disgusting and humiliating. Then there was that _stupid_ thing with Allistor, and _you_ were able to stop him. You weren't even a hero! I was! And you were the one that could stop his hit! You had to _protect_ me. You and that bloody frog..." Arthur trailed off, realizing he had said too much. He looked away, not noticing how Alfred opened and closed his mouth, unsure of how to answer, or when he reached out to touch him, but hesitated and pulled his hand back and let go of his arm.

Lovino smiled sadly at the sight, reminded of his own outburst against Antonio, and looked down at the fading scratches.

"I'm sorry." Arthur laughed cynically.

"What in the world could you possibly be apologizing for? You were a hero the moment you stepped into the school. You had no name, no familiar reputation, no distinguishable superhuman relatives, and you flew past me as if it were nothing. I have a name that's as well known in the Academy as it was out. I was the one with a line that dated back to the earliest founders, and I was as physically powerful as a human. Now even my name is worthless. All the prominent members are dead or gone, while you're the son of some of the most reputable heroes on the island, or what used to be the island..." he broke off, but quickly shook the thought out.

"I thought... maybe if you were my friend, if I took you under my wing, I could have some of the glory. It was stupid and selfish, but I was young, and stupid, and selfish, and I pushed you away when I realized I couldn't have what I wanted."

"You can-" Alfred turned a bright shade of red at his statement. Lovino, who was piecing together bits and pieces of the conversation and looking to Matthew for a further explanation, sat up in his seat. "I mean! Well, it's... we can start over! Everything is gone, but that's not completely bad? Names... shouldn't matter, no- they don't matter. A hero is a hero, and you're one of the greatest heroes, Artie. I mean it, and... if you think you're not because you're not strong like the others, then I'll be your strength!"

"You're not making any sense, Alfred."

"I wanna be partners! Well- not that kind of partners, yet, but what I mean is, let's work together! Every time you go on missions, I'll admit I get worried" Arthur glared at him and was about to open his mouth to tell Alfred off, but was stopped when Alfred quickly continued. "Not that I doubt your abilities or anything! But, you were worried, too, weren't you? In the tournament? Even though you knew I would be okay, there was still that bit of doubt? I don't want to feel that anymore, I'm a hero, too now and I want to go with you." Arthur hesitated, not knowing how to respond. He couldn't even fully understand what Alfred was asking of him.

"Partners?"

"Whatever kind of partners you want to be, as long as I'm with you!" Alfred explained eagerly. Arthur was about to answer when another voice spoke up before he could.

"Ve, say yes! Look Ludwig, isn't it cute? We're partners, too, right?" Both boys whipped their head around to see Feliciano sitting up in Ludwig's lap and watching the scene excitedly.

"Wh-When the hell did- I mean- how-"

"I figured out how to restore the telepathic translation. Sorry, Arthur," Wendy muttered, looking down as he stared at her in disbelief.

"No... It's... it's quite alright. Actually, it's rather impressive that you would be able to control your abilities on such a level."

"Gilbert taught us!" Marcello explained, earning a few glares at having disclosed their secret.

"I beg your pardon? When did this happen? Why wasn't I made aware? Did the Founders authorize this? You could have gotten seriously hurt." He looked between them for an answer, but Peter would have none of it.

"Don't change the subject, Arthur! Does that mean you and Alfred are dating now? That's great! I already saw him as a big brother, anyway, so you have my blessing, Artie!" Arthur spluttered before he was able to come up with an intelligible comeback.

"Cheeky brat, who said I needed your blessing?!"

"C'mon bastard, you're blushing like hell," Lovino added in, earning a small noise of agreement from a few of the others.

"Artie and Alfred sitting in a tree-" The children began singing, causing Arthur's face to redden further. Arthur was laughing good naturedly behind him.

"Th-that's quite enough!" When none of them stopped, and some, Feliciano and Leon, joined in, Arthur gave a defeated sigh. "Forget it, I'm taking a nap."

"Me too!" Alfred said, trying to follow him back to their seat.

"You just stay away from me, you bloody prat!"

"Wait, but you never answered me, Artie! Don't you wanna be my partner?"

Matthew found himself laughing and smiling, despite their current situation. The mood had become much more light-hearted and even the kids looked like they were having a good time. He knew it wasn't Alfred's intention, but his ability to lift others' spirits and always bounce back was what made him a great captain.

* * *

They continued to bicker, joke, and laugh for a few hours longer, before they had arrived at their destination. There were only two other ships present, and only a handful of people. Once their plane had landed, Nikel was the first one out and ran to his sister. The others stepped out cautiously, scared of who they would, or rather, _wouldn't_ see. Wendy burst into tears when she couldn't find her brother, while Lili did the same when she found hers.

Katyusha asked them about Natalya, but it looked like she didn't make it, either. Kiku expressed his joy over so many of his friends surviving, but was evidently distraught over the absence of Heracles, Yong Soo, and Lien. Feliks had been crying endlessly over Toris, who had apparently fallen behind trying to make sure he got out safe, along with Ivan. Eduard and Raivis were present, although Eduard looked very worn out.

It was bittersweet watching everyone, and Matthew and Lovino decided to stay away from it all. They had seen their missing family and loved ones fall, and held no false hopes. Arthur had wandered off, most likely to find someone, while Alfred approached them, carrying Wendy who had clung to him the minute she found out Jett wasn't there. Matthew could see why; he was so much like Jett: loud, confident, happy. Eventually Emil and Leon wandered over, too.

The only ones that had made it in Leon's family were Mei and Kiku, who were told to escape while Yong Soo and Lien held the enemy back. It was more than Katyusha, who was trying to come to terms with the fact that she couldn't protect her younger siblings, or Leo, who had lost his parents, uncle, and grandparent and was left with only Ludwig, who wasn't all too good at comforting the distraught boy.

Emil felt guilty. He looked to Leon and knew he had thought about what would have happened if he had stayed instead of leaving the second the alarms went off to find Emil. In truth, Emil wondered, too. Maybe they would have all made it out okay, even if Emil didn't, and how would he have? There was no exit, they were all blocked, but at least he would have been with the rest of his family. He tried to leave and give Leon some space for a while, but was pulled back and held closer than before. He let himself relax into his hold, but as the seconds went by in which the boy held him close, he could feel his chest grow heavier and heavier.

"I'm sor-"

"You would have been taken, if I didn't show up when I did," he whispered, running his hands through Emil's hair and caressing his cheek, as if he couldn't believe he was actually there. Emil flushed under the attention, but leaned into his touch, nonetheless. It was soft and comforting and normal. If even for an instant, it made him forget that his brother and Mathias were gone. Everything was the same as before. Any second now he would hear Lukas or Mathias telling them to break it up and go somewhere they could be supervised, but their voices never came. Instead, there was loud crash before them that sent sand and dust flying up. Leon stepped in front of him, but faltered at the sight before them.

When the cloud of dust had cleared, Arthur was kneeling down in front of the four oldest Kirklands, with Allistor grinning confidently down at him. His pride was in tatters, from the look on his face, and much to the amusement of his older brother.

"Well ain't that a sight for sore eyes. What'd'ya wan' Arthur? The hell's goin' on 'ere?" All the superhumans present hesitated under Allistor's gaze, some even stepping back. After all those years that they'd been gone, their image and strength had become distorted in the minds of the orders to the point that at the moment, they didn't know what they were facing.

"I- no, we need your help."

"The hell would I help ya? Told me ya didn't need me ever 'gain last time I saw ya, along with a few other things I can't say in fron' o' all these kids."

"Allistor..." Peter whispered in awe at the sight of his older brother. He was about to run up to him, but Alfred held him back, gently putting Wendy down.

"Please, I-"

"'s much as I love seein' ya like this, Artie, there ain't nothin' I'm willin' to do fer ya. If ya were a little more obedient, told Romulus ta sod off when he offered ya the role o' captain, and been grateful fer all I'd done fer ya- but then ya wouldn't need ta beg for my help, I woulda happily given it to ya. Ya sent me ta hell six years ago and I'm'a tell ya the same thing ya told me. 'Ya can shove it up yer arse fer all I care.'"

Alfred clenched his fists, not sure who he was more angry about: Allistor, for the way he was talking to Arthur, or Arthur, for being stupid enough to think they would want anything to do with them and degrading himself. He stepped forward, but was beat to it by Peter, who stepped under his arm and was running at the man.

"Allistor!" The man's features softened as he turned to his younger brother. The others, who had regarded Arthur with the same cold looks, found themselves smiling at the small boy who approached them.

"Peter, ya've gotten so big-"

"Allistor, the Academy was attacked. They killed Romulus and Alaric, and they took mom and dad and all the others. Please, you have to help us get them back." Peter's eyes were watering, both from the joy of seeing his brothers again, and from the recollection of the events that had occurred. Allistor paused briefly, taking it all in. He looked back to the others who looked every bit as worried as he did and held Peter's face in his hands.

"I should'a taken ya with me when I left," Allistor muttered to himself. He grabbed Peter's hand and started tugging him along. "C'mon. Yer comin' with us."

"No!" Arthur yelled scrambling to get up and to Allistor and Peter.

Alfred, Matthew, and Erland ran to them, too, but it was Peter who got himself away. He stood tall, despite the fact that he was shaking, and faced his brothers head on.

"M-my family and home are with the Academy! Tino and Berwald cared for me much longer than you ever did, and they're in trouble! I-I- you're always going to be my big brothers, but so is Arthur, and Alfred, and Matthew and Erland is my little brother now, and I want to stay with them. Your family was with the Academy, too. Can't you help us? Please, we don't know what to do, everybody's gone." Everything about him, from his voice, to his face and body language was scared and pleading, but it didn't do much to move Allistor.

"That ain't our problem anymore, Peter. If ya come with us we'll give ya yer old family and home back, and ya can ferget 'bout the Academy, but if ya stay here yer diggin' yer own grave. If they got the others, they'll get ya, too." Allistor didn't look at him as he spoke, but he could see Peter step back out of the corner of his eye.

"Y-you would just leave us like that? You really don't care? Y-you... you're not a hero. You were never a hero. Any of you. Arthur was right, you just fought for the glory of fighting...

"I was the one who admired you the most. Was that the only reason you liked me? Was that the only reason you didn't like Arthur? If we mean so little to you, then you can shove your glory up your ass! Mom and Dad were real heroes- our real mom and dad. I guess the only one they raised right was Arthur..." Allistor looked up, his expression showing anger and indignation, but not towards Peter. His hateful gaze was directed at Arthur, who was now standing beside Alfred, looking as unsure as he had ever let himself look in front of anyone.

"Ya really did raise 'im in yer spittin' image, didn't ya Artie? As disrespectful and entitled as ya always were. Ya can fend fer yerselves. We ain't gonna help any o' ya-" Allistor turned away, signalling for his brothers to do the same.

As much as Alfred had grown to dislike the man, he knew that they didn't have anyone to track the other heroes. Even Eduard, whose abilities enhanced his ability to track others, was at a loss in such a situation. Maybe if Vlad had made it they wouldn't need to turn to them, but if Arthur had called them, then he was nowhere near them.

He had known Allistor long enough to know who and what he cared about. He had cared about him at some point, but he knew seeing him stand tall next to Arthur wasn't helping his point. He did know, however, that he had always cared about Francis. He was young at the time, but he saw the way he regarded him, and now Francis was gone.

"They took Francis." Allistor stopped. He slowly turned to see if Alfred was telling the truth, scanning Alfred's face, his brother's, and everyone and everythig around him, realizing that Francis was nowhere in sight.

"What are ya talkin' about? Where is he? Why didn't ya do anything about it?!" He quickly stormed up to Alfred and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt.

"Why didn't you? Oh- that's right, you abandoned him six years ago because your pride got a little scratched," Alfred spit back.

"Watch it, Alfred," Allistor snarled.

"Or what?" He pried his hands off of himself and pushed him back, much to Allistor's surprise. "I could stop you when I was a kid, I can kick your ass now."

"So could I. I've done more alone than you four have done together," Arthur stated, taking Alfred's hand in his own.

Allistor hesitated for a moment, analyzing his odds and his chances of finding Francis if he tried to do it on his own. He gave a defeated sigh and called Dylan over.

"I ain't gonna fight ya. I'll help ya, but as soon as he's okay, yer on yer own."

"Brilliant. We just need Dylan to track their location for us."

"I need an item that belonged to one of the heroes that was captured," he stated, holding his hand out. Alfred pulled out the card Emil had given him.

"This is Mathias's key to the Academy plane. He was taken with the others." Dylan nodded and turned to Allistor.

"It will take a moment." He closed his eyes and Allistor held him up before he could crash against the ground.

He gently lowered himself and his brother onto the ground. Arthur and Alfred kneeled with them.

"He better be okay, Arthur, or-"

"Or it'll be on your head." Before Allistor could respond, Dylan's eyes snapped open again and he sat up. His face showed a fear that made the boys nervous, but he didn't explain.

"Found them. All of them."

* * *

 **This chapter was crazy guys :0. Not because of what happened in it, more like cuz it was Thursday and I was like SHIT I DON'T HAVE A CHAPTER and it ended up being the longest XD. Anyway, all I can say about this chapter is "I ship" XD. I dunno, I feel like I don't see enough Scotlandx France fanfics and it sucks because it's my favorite France pairing XD. I think I hinted at it a little earlier when Gilbert was telling Lovino about the Kirklands, but it's been a while and it was really small XD. Anyway! I'll add all the Kirklands to the list, but I think they're the only new ones, and I'll add the translation for the French :0.** **Translation:** ** _Âllo? Âllo? Alfred, est-ce vous? Alfred? C'est l'Académie avion 90732 Capitaine Bella Anderson, vous copiez? Alfred? Est-ce que tout le monde va bien? Mon frére cadet est avec vous? Alfred, répondre s'il vous plaît. Je vais vous répéter les coordonnées de l'endroit où nous nous reverrons. Vingt sept point un trois deux quatre huit un Nord et soixante treize point zéro six cinq quatre huit Ouest.:_** Hello? Hello? Alfred, is that you? Alfred? This is Academy plane 90732 Captain Bella Anderson, you copy? Alfred? Is everyone okay? My younger brother is with you? Alfred, please answer. I'll tell you the coordinates of where we'll meet again. twenty seven point one three two four eight a north and seventy three point zero six five four eight west.

 ** _Parler avec sœur:_** Talk with sister. (It's just really bad french XD no typos or mistranslations anything XD) ** _Verdamment? Merci!:_** Really? Thank you! ** _Bella? Bella, c'est Tu? Ça vas bien? Et Lars? Oh... non? C'est rien. Il sera bien:_** Bella? Bella, is it you? Are you okay? And Lars? Oh... no? It's nothing. He'll be okay.

 **Superpowers** :

 **Allistor Kirkland Age 38: Superhuman strength, superhumanly acrobatic, flight** **Dylan Kirkland Age 32:** **Memory manipulation, telepathy, mind control, psychometry** , **telekinesis, superhuman endurance, strength, and agility** **Patrick Kirkland Age 35:Magic, superhuman endurance, speed, agility, reflexes** **Angus Kirkland Age 35: Science manipulation (pretty much what it sounds like XD? You can manipulate the laws of science however you want or make new ones) superhuman endurance, agility, reflexes**

 **Lien Chung Age 18: superhumanly acrobatic**

 **Mei Xiao Age 18: empathic power randomization**

 **Im Yong Soo Age 18:imagination manifestation**

 **Toris Laurinaitis Age 18: Telepathy and Telekinesis**

 **Jett Kirkland Age 18: Animal communication, animal morphing, enhanced senses**

 **Feliks Łukasiewicz Age 18: Earth Manipulation**

 **Heracles Karpusi Age 18: Empathy, superhuman strength, endurance, and reflexes, psychic weapons**

 **Natalya Arlovskaya Age 18: sonic screech, superhuman reflexes, agility, and speed**

 **Michelle Mancham Age 18: water breathing, water manipulation, superhuman stamina, endurance, and agility**

 **Kiku Honda Age 18: Mimicry, power enhancement**

 **Emil Steilsson Age 18: Weather manipulation, superhuman speed, stamina, and reflexes, levitation**

 **Nikel Anderson (Luxembourg) Age 10: Amalgamation ( the ability to fuse things with one's self or each other)**

 **Leopold Edelstein (Kugelmugel) Age 8: hard light constructs, superhuman agility and reflexes**

 **Marcello Vargas (Seborga) Age 12: atomic manipulation**

 **Wendy Kirkland (Wy) Age 11:telepathy, telekinesis, psionic blasts**

 **Lili Zwingli Age 12: animal communication, superhuman endurance, agility, and reflexes**

 **Peter Kirkland Age 12: Shapeshifting, superhuman endurance, reflexes, and agility**

 **Elizabeta Héderváry Age 29: nature manipulation**

 **Matthew Williams Age 17: Invisibility, teleportation, intangibility**

 **Mathias Køhler Age 32: forcefield generation, energy blasts, superhuman strength and endurance**

 **Berwald Oxenstierna Age 32: Adamantine body armor, absorption, superhuman strength, endurance, and reflexes**

 **Lukas Bondevik Age 32: Astral projection, summoning, telepathy, energy blasts**

 **Tino Vainamoinen Age 30: duplication, echolocation, superhuman reflexes and agility, healing factor**

 **Alfred F. Jones Age 17: Superhuman strength, agility, endurance, stamina**

 **Feliciano Vargas Age 18: Superspeed, healing factor, superhuman stamina**

 **Francis Bonnefoy Age 27: illusion, possession, power neutralization**

 **Alaric Beilschmidt (Germania): superhuman strength, flight, telepathy, reduced aging**

 **Romulus Vargas (Ancient Rome): Superhuman strength and endurance, flight, reduced aging**

 **Lovino Vargas Age 18: Fire and heat manipulation, infrared vision**

 **Antonio Fernandez Carriedo Age 26: animal communication, animal morphing, enhanced senses**

 **Leon Wang (Hong Kong) Age 18: portal creation, superhuman speed, agility, and strength**

 **Ludwig Beilschmidt Age 17: elemental transmutation, elemental manipulation, superhuman endurance and strength**

 **Gilbert Beilschmidt Age 27: disintegration, superhuman endurance, agility, and stamina**

 **Eduard Von Bock Age 28: superhuman tracking, technopathy, electric manipulation**

 **Bella Anderson Age 26: Animation, superhuman strength, reflexes, agility**

 **Katyusha Braginskya Age 25: Healing, Superhumanly acrobatic, plant manipulation**

 **Liam Kirkland Age 18: Animal communication, animal imitation (different from animal morphing in that one only takes on an ability of an animal, not its appearance)**

 **Erland Oxenstierna Age 10: Technopathy, superhuman senses (he's still young and awakened his powers later than a full blood mutant, so he might develop more on the way, but not now)**

 **Lucille Merimée Age 18: accelerated probability, subconscious telekinetic probability manipulation, superhuman agility**

 **Lars Anderson Age 28: probability manipulation, superhuman strength, speed, agility, and senses**

 **Reviews:**

ElSameo:

*Gasp* that is a good idea, and totally relevant to the next chapter, I will do that then XD. I had almost forgotten, and I didn't really think people were all too interested tbh XD. I love him, too XD. Thanks so much for reminding me and reviewing to tell me what you think :D!

Red-Hot Habanero:

Yeah- It killed me a little having to do that, but what's a story without a climax XD? Plus, that's where I'd been going with this for a while so I couldn't just, you know, not XD. It was one of the most vivid scenes I could see when I first started writing this :0, even the Founders dying. I kinda felt that the story couldn't really progress with them, anyway. They're pretty powerful, but I think if they did escape, the people who took the students when they were dead wouldn't have been stupid enough to take them if they were alive, it'd leave them in a situation where they could be attacked from the outside and inside because there's no doubt Romulus and Alaric would have inspired the survivors to fight back, so in that case they would have been better off killing them, taking a sample of their DNA and using the hero (spy) they already had in their possession to study and replicate the mutations.

Whereas if the founders are dead, the survivors would be scattered with no home and no leader, so an attack didn't seem very likely, especially with the language barrier. It's not like each jet would have someone who could provide a telepathic translation. In that case, it would be safer to take the superhumans alive to study them at their leisure. The death of the Founders actually had the same reaction dead as alive and the survivors will restore the pieces of their home in the name of their Founders. In a sense, they accidentally turned them into martyrs and a reason to fight.

Oh, yeah, they were all captured XD. That'll be in the next chapter for sure XD.

 **Anyway~ thanks so much for doing all that stuff you can to a story, guys XD.**


	19. Chapter 19

The children were supposed to be redistributed between the captains, but most preferred to stay with their relatives on Alfred's ship and most of those onboard refused to separate from the others to better situate themselves: Emil refused to leave Alfred, as he was about the last bit of family he had left, which made Leon stay. Erland, Peter and Matthew stayed for the same reason, which kept Lovino and Arthur there, which also kept Feliciano, Ludwig, Marcello, Wendy and Leo on his ship. The only two that left were Nikel and Lili. The latter had gone with Eduard, Raivis, Feliks and her brother, while the former had gone with Katyusha, Kiku, Mei, and Bella.

The Kirklands decided to use their own methods to get to the location, and left as soon as they had given the others the coordinates. Dylan had spoken little of what he had seen, but he was urgent in his tone when he told the others to depart as soon as possible.

Even still, an immediate departure was not possible and Academy faculty and students remained a bit longer to attend to some business before they split up. Katyusha went to care for Lovino's wound, but even she was surprised when she noted what little there was left to heal. The wounds were mostly scarring, and the small amount of bruising had receded. Aside from that, none of the planes had much fuel left, which was where Marcello stepped in.

He quickly analyzed the make up of the fuel, and rearranged the molecules of a few gallons of water, sand, and foliage to produce fuel. Alfred was a bit iffy about using it, but there was really no other way. Besides, Lovino, Matthew, and the other kids assured the others that Marcello had gained control of his abilities- for the most part.

Eduard fixed up their wing to the best of his abilities, but nothing much could really be done for it, considering some of the pieces had crumbled and fallen off during their flight. Ludwig assured the others that it would be fine, and that he could keep it up if it became clear that it could not hold up on its own.

Once it was all said and done, they piled into their respective ships and departed.

* * *

There was an odd mix of emotions in the air. There was an anxiety, anger, relief, joy, and delicate hope between those onboard. There was also a bit of an elephant in the room, as Dylan had let it be known that the heroes were in a lab of sorts, but what went on was beyond his sight. It made the atmosphere of the ship seem cold and empty, and yet the presence of the others was well known.

It was Alfred who broke the silence.

"Do you think... that the others are going to be in the same situation you were in?" Lovino tensed, but Matthew simply looked up, having already thought of it.

"M-maybe, but I really hope not and... it... it wouldn't make sense. Where we were... what they did was to allow our powers to come out- I mean- unless they want to see the potential of everyone's power... it could be?" With a defeated sigh, he hunched over. "I don't know, Alfred."

"...What did they do to you there?" Feliciano asked hesitantly. Matthew began to fidget, unsure of how to answer so as to not make them worry.

"Well... um... a lot of things. I dont know, I'm younger than Lovino. I wasn't around to see it as long, but I don't think he wants to-" Lovino scoffed at Matthew's namby pamby way of dealing with the truth.

"There's a damn good chance it's the same thing. This can't be a fucking coincidence, and they didn't just _test_ things like us; They _made_ things like us. But... they didn't come out right. Not usually. They were so distorted, and yet alive, but it was like they couldn't see, or feel, or think. They'd be burned alive. The smell- it was fucking disgusting, but it was better than what could have happened to you if you were alive. Some lived, but they were too human, and they'd be killed, too, but none of us... none of them were human to them. We were- experiments, lab rats, things that they made and could control however they wanted and do whatever they wanted to. If those that were captured aren't going through the same thing, then whatever they make from them sure as hell are." He didn't pause as he saw his fellow superhumans draw back at his response. Instead, he took a bit of a pleasure in their understanding of what he had been through. The bare truth of it all.

"You were drowned, electrocuted, suffocated, and put into all kinds of high stress situations to let your powers come out. If they didn't after all that, you'd be sent to the incinerator- if you didn't die already. My abilities came in during the tests, but- wouldn't it have been funny if they came in while the others were being burned alive?" He asked with a bitter laugh. Alfred opened his mouth in an attempt to speak, but thought better of it and continued to listen.

"I was the first one that fucking came out right, but I didn't have many abilities at that point. I could just heat things up a little more, so, after they gave more tests, took blood and marrow samples, they put me into the gel to speed up my growth." He hesitated as he remembered the dreams, or rather, nightmares that he had related to the gel. His voice became distant as he recalled the last few months before his discovery as if he were reliving it. "It was like... sleeping and dreaming, but what could you dream about, if that was all you had seen? It was more inescapable than reality and when I woke up again, Mattie was there.

"It was fine, when it was just me, but seeing Mattie there scared me. He could get hurt just like me, but he looked more... delicate. I didn't want him to get hurt, and he wasn't showing much potential. He could only disappear, he couldn't move through things, he was still tangible, it was what they considered useless, and they would get mad. I... would piss them off more whenever they got upset with Matthew. Bruises aren't as noticeable on my skin, and they would fade away quickly enough, but they didn't like that they could bruise me." He stopped and shook his head clear of the thought, returning to his matter of fact manner of detailing what happened, not even sparing Matthew a glance.

"We were supposed to be superhuman, and a human could bruise us so easily. Not only that, but... I couldn't control my abilities, and Mattie was considered too mentally weak, so they put us back in again, and that's when Tino and the others found us. It's why I attacked when I woke up..."

"I'm sorry-" Another forced laugh.

"There ain't nothin' to be sorry about, Feli. You asked, I answered. It's over and done, and if it's the same fucker that did that shit to us that's doing it to them," he sent Feliciano a smug, cold look that sent shivers down his spine. "I'll burn him alive." Alfred finally spoke up, his honor pushing past his awe and horror.

"But- you can't, that's not what heroes-" he stopped when Lovino looked to him with the same cold, malicious smile, Alfred's statement not having shaken him from the thought.

" _I'm_ not a hero, and I've always like that whole 'eye for an eye' business, anyway."

"As captain-" Lovino's smile fell off and was replaced with an undisguised irritation.

"How many times do I have to tell you, motherfucker? If I ain't a hero, you ain't my captain. Besides, with Romulus dead, and our home destroyed, there's no clear establishment. No rules." Matthew remained quiet through Alfred and Lovino's discussion.

Neither had really seemed to see eye to eye fully. Lovino always seemed to have a harsher way of dealing with things, while Alfred always did his best to do what was noble. The tensions were rising and Matthew didn't know how to dispel them, just like the last time. Things were beginning to become worse as both boys left their seats, much to Arthur and Ludwig's protest. Some of the children looked scared as Leon and Emil did their best to soothe them.

"Lovino, you can't- " Arthur was cut off, the same as Alfred.

"You can't tell me you don't want to hit back? They killed Romulus, Alaric, took the other students and heroes," he turned to Alfred. "Took _your_ whole family." He stopped as if he had realized something, then, slowly, spoke again, with a small smile.

"I can be your scapegoat. I'll burn the whole place to the ground when you're done, if they decide a superhuman did it, I'll say it was me, no one will ever have to know. You can kill and harm the people responsible to your heart's content. Don't you want to do something?" Alfred wavered. Not because he had considered it, but because he realized that no amount of arguing against it would change Lovino's mind.

He was right, there was no order amongst them anymore, not with Alaric and Romulus gone, and Yao MIA. He went with the only card left. One that was overused, but would work if Lovino hated the people who had made him like this as much as he did.

"If- if you do that, then you're just like them." But- it didn't.

"Damn fucking right I am! I picked up on their mannerisms, their way of speaking, the way they dealt with things, and I don't give a fuck-" Matthew recoiled, as if physically struck, as did Alfred, Ludwig and Arthur, but not Feliciano.

"It's okay, Lovi," he said with a genuine smile. His voice was soothing and caring, even after all he had heard.

"What the fuck are you going on about, bastard?" It was Lovino's turn to draw back.

"Let it out" he said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Everyone was always really mad when they were brought to the Academy. Some were mad at themselves, some at their parents, and some at the school. Everything happened so fast that you didn't get to do that. So, let it out. You're not a bad person, and I won't blame you for the things you say." He smiled and embraced his brother, who froze in his arms.

"I- You really are better than me," Lovino mumbled, as if it was something he had known all along. He gently pushed away from Feliciano and looked between him and Alfred, and then back at Matthew, who had been shying away from the conflict. "You know, they wanted to make us just like you. That's how we were supposed to be, when they finally took us out."

"But what fun would that be?" Matthew asked, with a small smile gracing his lips as he looked up at Lovino. He smiled back wondering what it would have been like to think like Feliciano, especially in relation to Alfred. Sure, they were friends, but they weren't as close as Matthew and Lovino were, for all their differences.

He felt better when he thought of it that way. He didn't need to be perfect. Not if he had the friends he had for all his imperfections.

"I'm sorry. I- shouldn't have said the things I said. I was angry- still am, but the Founders' death is all the more reason for me to respect their wishes, or whatever. I won't do anything to step out of line, and I guess I'll see you as my captain, bastard. Better than the macho potato, anyway." Lovino plopped down onto his seat with a huff.

"D-do you think we'll get them back?" It was Peter who spoke. He looked sick, as if hearing everything he had had created the most disturbing image that was now stuck in his head. He was clearly on the brink of tears, and when he spoke again, they began sliding down his face.

"I-I don't want those things to happen to mom, or dad, or anyone," he hiccupped. "They don't deserve that. Mom and Dad were always so nice to me. They took care of me when Arthur and the others couldn't, and they would always tuck me in and tell me stories and kiss me goodnight, and when I went to the children's section they would always visit and do the same. You have to promise me that we'll get them back okay. They need to be okay, everyone does."

Alfred was about to speak when Emil contributed, in a way to show that he understood Peter. That he wasn't alone in his sorrows or fears. "Lukas- he's always done everything he could for me when he was alone. I was always his first priority, even before we came to the Academy. I took him for granted- _oh my god_ , I took him for granted," he forced out in a harsh whisper full of remorse and frustration. He covered his face with his hands for a moment before he spoke again. "Him and Mathias, they were always so kind to me, always protecting me, and I would always push them away. Mathias... I was nothing of his, and yet, when I cried, he would comfort me, when I woke up from a nightmare, he would run in with Lukas, when I was scared of the thunder and lightning he would sit with me and Lukas and make stupid jokes and make me laugh and make me angry, and do everything to make me forget. They both- fought for me. They both made sure I wouldn't be taken out of the Academy when I didn't qualify, and then they made sure I would make it out safe. I don't- I don't know what I would do if they- I don't know, I can't _think_. I just _don't know_." He hunched over, digging the heels of his hands into his eyes as Leon rubbed circles into his back soothingly, and whispered reassuring words.

"Jett was the same... when the Academy picked him up, he told them he couldn't just leave me behind. He said he would stay, even if it meant not controlling his powers fully, even if it meant he'd be a danger to everyone. He said he would never be a danger to me. That a part of him would first kill itself before me. That's why they brought me along, too. Antonio's really nice to have let me come, he even toook the brunt of it when Romulus got mad at him. He said maybe I'd be like Emil. He said if it was genetic, maybe there was a chance. I was a Kirkland, after all, but I stood less of a chance than Emil. I was a girl, and girls aren't usually heroes... But I guess I got lucky... but it ran out. Jett said he would be right behind me. He said he needed to help Liam. I liked Liam, he was sweet and he played with me, and he and Jett got along really well. He called him Kiwi. He told me that's what people from New Zealand are sometimes called," she said with a small laugh, before her eyes watered again. "I thought... maybe they would be okay. They were both strong. They would make it. I suppose... it's obvious that they didn't."

Alfred looked over the crying faces of those who had spoken, and those who had only thought about their stolen loved ones. Matthew and Lovino looked guilty for having any sort of possible relation to what was happening, as well as distraught over the people they had lost, Emil's face was hidden in Leon's shoulder, but Leon's face looked like it was clearly holding back tears as he mumbled comforting words to the other boy, the kids had begun to cry again, and behind him, Ludwig and Feliciano looked tense, but showed no signs of tears. Instead, Feliciano and Ludwig looked up at him with a look of determination, as if to say that everything would be fine, that they would fix everything.

Alfred turned to find Arthur watching Peter, wanting to comfort him, but not knowing how, or not feeling entitled, to do so. It wasn't... right. Any of it.

He didn't want them to look so sad, to feel so sad. He wanted to do something for them, but he couldn't guarantee a success, he couldn't even guarantee that everyone would be alive when they got to wherever the hell they were. He knew he would try his best, though. He knew that he would do everything in his power to ensure the safety of as many heroes as he could, but even then, the same anxiety weighed down his heart.

They could all get hurt so easily. He could bring them with him and he would fear their fates and their safety, and a part of him wished he could do it alone. He wished he was strong enough to do it alone. It was the same determination he saw in Feliciano's eyes, and to a lesser extent in Ludwig and Arthur's eyes.

They had all been raised to value their kind. They were their only support, for the most part. They were outsiders, plagues, bothersome, dangerous, or even downright monsters, sometimes, but not to each other. Never to each other. They were family. They were someone who understood and lived through the same burdens, and who could share their grief. Feliciano and Marcello, Jett and Wendy, Lukas and Emil, Leon and his family, and even he, himself, knew what it was like to be thrown out, to be rejected.

"I- was found by Tino and Berwald, and the other Nordics. They had been on a mission in America. There was a mutated buffalo, ox- I don't fucking know- it was destroying things, it was on a rampage, and they got called in to stop it and put it down. Mutations are dangerous in animals, they act only on instinct...

"Anyway, I was in the forest, maybe only four or five, my parents had left me there, I don't know if they wanted it to kill me, or only wanted to ditch me, but I stumbled onto it while they were fighting it and in its injured state, it charged at me. I remember it clearly. I remember the pounding feet. I remember Mathias yelling at Mom to put it down, and the bullets bouncing off of its hard skin, Dad charging at it, but he was too far, and it was too fast. I remember Lukas's spells and shadows breaking as it came at me at full speed and I remember thinking about how light it was," he said with a laugh. "I swung it around like a doll until I lost my grip. Its legs came clean off, and I was horrified and everybody had frozen.

"Mathias and Berwald finished putting it down while Tino and Lukas ran over to make sure I was okay and comfort me. They talked to each other, something about what to do with me and who I was and how I did what I did. They asked me my name, the name of my town, my parents' names, and then they took me there.

"I was too stupid to realize my parents were appalled by the thought of having such a dangerous kid. Someone who Berwald had to carry in adamantine skin because I didn't know how to control my strength. I kept asking if I was going to see them yet.

"When they took me back, asked around, they found out my family had up and moved over the course of a night, leaving me behind. As if a five year old could keep up with a moving van, or even stand a chance in a forest and hunt them down." His eyes began to water at the thought of it. Of the irrational fear, and the consequences of something that was beyond his control. He pressed the heels of his palms onto his eyes as he continued.

"They told me my parents were gone, and I didn't understand. I remember thinking they meant they had gone out, maybe to the store, maybe to work, but Mom only shook his head and said they weren't coming back. I-I couldn't- I didn't understand. They were supposed to be my parents. I got angry. At them, at myself, at everything, but they only stood by and let me take it out on everything. When I had tired myself out, Mom and Dad sat next to me, I laid my head on Mom's lap, and I fell asleep. When I woke up, I was on a soft bed, they had given me food, and they asked me if I wanted to go back with them. They said they could be my family from then on.

"They were so patient with me... I had broken so many doors, left so many bruises, sometimes even Lukas didn't really want me near Emil, but they never raised their voice, they never looked like they were sick of me... I was nothing to them, and yet... I had somehow become everything to them. They showed me more love and compassion than my own parents had." He took in a deep breath and stood tall as he addressed everyone aboard the plane. "Believe me when I say that I understand what most of you went through. Believe me when I say I'll do everything I can to get your families back. I know how important they are to you." Matthew and Lovino exchanged a look, and smiled warmly to one another.

"Of course, we'll help. I-In any way we can!" Matthew said. "They're our family, too. We may not have had them as long, but we love them just the same."

"Plus, if anyone's gonna hurt that Antonio bastard, it's gonna be me for having scratched up my arm," Lovino muttered. The others gave a soft laugh, already dispersing the earlier tension.

"Keep that fire in you, we still got a long way to go," Alfred said, laughing at his own joke. Some of the kids and Feliciano laughed with him, while Arthur and Ludwig rolled their eyes, Emil, Lovino, and Leon groand, and Matthew sent him a hesitant smile.

"Oh, ha-ha, bastard. Real fucking funny. Now do one about how there's no need to get all hot and bothered about it," Lovino said, sarcastically.

"Oh! that's actually-" he stopped, seeing the look that Lovino sent him that said he _did_ have the ability to make him spontaneously combust and would show him if he said any more.

"Never mind- Anyway, we'll be there in maybe an hour or more..."

* * *

"Have you extracted blood samples from each of the captives? Good, I want them studied immediately, once you're done with that, I want each of them to be tested." A man in a suit walked briskly through stark white lab rooms with glass panels for doors. For now, they were each empty, with the exception of silver surgery tables. The bright lights were nearly blinding as they bounced off of the glass and walls. He was flanked by two men in lab coats, and four soldiers, with an entourage that totalled six.

As they passed through security protected doors, they lost the two in lab coats and were then joined by another man, who stood alone, just before the doors, waiting for their arrival. Once they joined, they continued their fast pace, weaving through corridors, equipment, and people who scurried about making sure that their prisoners were well contained. The newly arrived man glanced impatiently at the one that led their group beside him. When he continued to walk with no indication of where they were going, he spoke up.

"What is this about? You called me suddenly, spouting nonsense about revolutionary ideas and new weapons. I've been waiting an hour with nothing new to have even kept me here at all."

"Then we should consider it lucky that you were so curious. Come, just around this corner is-"

"The heroes..." The man came to an abrupt stop at the sight of rows of superhumans he had recognized and, on occasion, done business with, caged like animals behind impenetrable glass.

They snarled at the sight of the man next to him and threw themselves at the glass in an attempt to break out, but their powers were neutralized in the location, and they could do nothing but cry out in anger as they approached. The guards beside them stiffened, but that was the only indication of tension in their concealed forms.

"Don't belittle my collection. These aren't _just_ the heroes. They're the _captains_. I separated them from the others in case they thought to inspire some pathetic uprising. See here? Mathias, of the Nordic Wolves, his partner, Lukas, of the Veneficis- that team dates back centuries, you know? Berwald, no official team given to lead, but he has led the Nordics, and a group of transmutators a few times. Elizabeta, of the World Guard. One of the more prestigious roles, you know of it, don't you? I'm surprised they gave it to a new mutant. Although, I suppose after that little incident, Gilbert couldn't keep the role. Antonio of the Beasts, and, my personal favorite, Gilbert, of the Bad Touch. His group was rather deadly, short range and long. He took down more opponents than anyone as a child, but that's not what makes him my favorite.

"No, it's that he slipped up just enough to worry people about their kind. A lovely window for us to creep into. Oh-" the man paused as if thinking something over, before he quickly recovered with a malicious glow in his eyes. "I misspoke. He's only my second favorite. My first- bring him to me, would you?" He said, keeping his eyes on the red ones of the man before him. Gilbert regarded him with an intensely angered look, as if wishing by will alone that the thing dividing the two would spontaneously disappear and allow him to tear him apart, or even that there would be a flicker in whatever was neutralizing their powers so he could reduce the man to dust and save himself the effort.

A brief glance to the others said the same thing. They all wanted blood, his blood, and it was making the new man uncomfortable.

"This isn't _safe_. What of Romulus and Alaric? When they find you-"

"There's no need to worry about that. I had them killed." The man took an astonished step back.

"You couldn't have, that's not- _sane_. We need them, and their heroes, and you have them in cages. _You've made them our enemies_. There are animals and people like them that are beyond our control, some beyond our militaries' control, that would reek havoc if we don't have someone to stop them! What will we do then? And what of the other students? You can't have captured them all, they'll come looking!"

" _Details_ , my old friend. None of that will matter soon. I will simply mold them to my liking, and gift one to each country. If they don't bend to my will, I'll simply have them copied and kill the original. It's that easy, I assure you. Anyway, those left are only children who are only used to taking orders. Besides, I have a card up my sleeve, I always do. Ah! Here he comes."

Both men turned to find a guard dragging along a small, slim, blond headed figure, still in his bed clothes. The second the captains had seen him, they began to pound on the glass that divided them from the men and their friend.

The Nordics in particular were very agitated over his appearance, and as he drew nearer, they became more violent. His violet eyes shone with tension and he began to try to pull away from the guard as they came to a stop before them.

" _This_ is the card you had up your sleeve?! You're _using_ one of the Nordics? A threat won't last long, you'll give him an opening soon enough, and I won't be involved or blamed when everything blows up in your face."

"But you misunderstand. I'm not _threatening_ him. He's here of his own free will. Release him." Tino looked up at the man confused, but did not make a move closer to his companions, or away from the men. He simply stood, looking away. "What's wrong, Tino? Don't you want to say hello to your friends? It looked like they really wanted to see you. They still care for you, you know. Why don't you put an end to that? Grab Mr. Beilschmidt, he's needed at the labs." The man handed him a gun, without a second thought, and turned back to the man at his side.

"See? He's been with me since he was a child. I am his family. I raised him and I sent him to the Academy. In turn, he has spied for me, obtained DNA from Feliciano Vargas and Alfred Jones, and contributed part of his own to make copies and kept them safe. He did rebel every now and then, but, of course, he always remembers who took him in when he was cast out. I have a bit of leverage on him, too. I have molded him in such a way that his will is mine." They watched as Tino entered the pin to open Gilbert's enclosure, grabbed him, twisted his arms behind his back, and escorted him at gun point to the blindingly white labs without uttering a word.

The captains looked at a loss. Torn between disbelief and anger. They hadn't understood a word that was said, but clearly understood what had just happened. Tino was a traitor, he had always been. Nothing he had said or done, none of his friendliness, none of it- had ever been real. Some began to recall every move he ever made, everything he had ever said, but none more than the Nordics, who had established a sort of family with him.

Mathias was the first to go into a frenzy, screaming, and hitting the glass with all his might, then Lukas, both who had lost Emil because of him, and who knew the effect it would have on Berwald. He was their oldest friend, and one of the kindest and most selfless people they had known, and at that moment, while everyone was furious, and shouting, and cursing, he was quiet. He watched as the family he had created slipped away, right before his eyes.

"That's... truly cold-blooded. Even for you, that's appalling."

"Yes, well, when they do get out, they'll want his head first, and I'll gladly give it to them."

"So he means nothing to you?"

"He is nothing more than a pet. I'll admit he's been a big help, and none of this would have been possible without him, but now I'll have more pets with the collection I have gathered. Besides," he signalled to the guard to remove his mask to reveal Tino's face; Another copy. "They would have to go after all of them, at least 3 to 1. Now, tell me, are you willing to sponsor my little project, or not?"

There was a long silence, in which the man only held a troubled expression. He looked to the captains before him, looked to the room from which Tino was brought which, no doubt, contained dozens more heroes, then thought of those that were still out there. It wasn't a smart choice to put himself in front of that bullet, but it also wasn't smart to so openly deny someone who had so many weapons at his disposal.

He nodded slowly. "I will not report you to the others, but I can only say that I wish to see how this progresses."

"I see... very well, then come this way and I'll show you what is to be done to Mr. Beilschmidt."

* * *

 **WHOOPS! SORRY- I swear this was only meant to be a break for Thanksgiving, but then I got the Captive Prince trilogy and I HAD to reread them, and then finals, and then I got a job OAO. I'm sorry XD. I hope this chapter sort of made it up to you? I gave Alfred's background, which I like pretty well and had planned for a while, gave Lovino and Matthew's background, revealed the spy, and gave some of Tino's background :D? I think I only have one or two chapters left :D! I'm kinda contemplating starting a witch hunter au fanfic after this around the awesome trio and magic trio... honestly sounds really fun XD. whatever, I'll think about that when I'm done! I WILL TOTALLY UPDATE NEXT WEEKEND!**

 **Superpowers:**

 **Allistor Kirkland Age 38: Superhuman strength, superhumanly acrobatic, flight**

 **Dylan Ki** **rkland Age 32: Memory manipulation, telepathy, mind control, psychometry, telekinesis, superhuman endurance, strength, and agility**

 **Patrick** **Kirkland Age 35:Magic, superhuman endurance, speed, agility, reflexes**

 **Angus** **Kirkland Age 35: Science manipulation (pretty much what it sounds like XD? You can manipulate the laws of science however you want or make new ones) superhuman endurance, agility, reflexes**

 **Lien** **Chung Age 18: superhumanly acrobatic**

 **Mei** **Xiao Age 18: empathic power randomization**

 **Im** **Yong Soo Age 18:imagination manifestation**

 **Toris** **Laurinaitis Age 18: Telepathy and Telekinesis**

 **Jett** **Kirkland Age 18: Animal communication, animal morphing, enhanced senses**

 **Feliks** **Łukasiewicz Age 18: Earth Manipulation**

 **Heracles** **Karpusi Age 18: Empathy, superhuman strength, endurance, and reflexes, psychic weapons**

 **Natalya** **Arlovskaya Age 18: sonic screech, superhuman reflexes, agility, and speed**

 **Michelle** **Mancham Age 18: water breathing, water manipulation, superhuman stamina, endurance, and agility**

 **Kiku** **Honda Age 18: Mimicry, power enhancement**

 **Emil** **Steilsson Age 18: Weather manipulation, superhuman speed, stamina, and reflexes, levitation**

 **Nikel** **Anderson (Luxembourg) Age 10: Amalgamation ( the ability to fuse things with one's self or each other)**

 **Leopold** **Edelstein (Kugelmugel) Age 8: hard light constructs, superhuman agility and reflexes**

 **Marcello** **Vargas (Seborga) Age 12: atomic manipulation**

 **Wendy** **Kirkland (Wy) Age 11:telepathy, telekinesis, psionic blasts**

 **Lili** **Zwingli Age 12: animal communication, superhuman endurance, agility, and reflexes**

 **Peter** **Kirkland Age 12: Shapeshifting, superhuman endurance, reflexes, and agility**

 **Elizabeta** **Héderváry Age 29: nature manipulation**

 **Matthew** **Williams Age 17: Invisibility, teleportation, intangibility**

 **Mathias** **Køhler Age 32: forcefield generation, energy blasts, superhuman strength and endurance**

 **Berwald** **Oxenstierna Age 32: Adamantine body armor, absorption, superhuman strength, endurance, and reflexes**

 **Lukas** **Bondevik Age 32: Astral projection, summoning, telepathy, energy blasts**

 **Tino** **Vainamoinen Age 30: duplication, echolocation, superhuman reflexes and agility, healing factor**

 **Alfred** **F. Jones Age 17: Superhuman strength, agility, endurance, stamina**

 **Feliciano** **Vargas Age 18: Superspeed, healing factor, superhuman stamina**

 **Francis** **Bonnefoy Age 27: illusion, possession, power neutralization**

 **Alaric** **Beilschmidt (Germania): superhuman strength, flight, telepathy, reduced aging**

 **Romulus** **Vargas (Ancient Rome): Superhuman strength and endurance, flight, reduced aging**

 **Lovino** **Vargas Age 18: Fire and heat manipulation, infrared vision**

 **Antonio** **Fernandez Carriedo Age 26: animal communication, animal morphing, enhanced senses**

 **Leon** **Wang (Hong Kong) Age 18: portal creation, superhuman speed, agility, and strength**

 **Ludwig** **Beilschmidt Age 17: elemental transmutation, elemental manipulation, superhuman endurance and strength**

 **Gilbert** **Beilschmidt Age 27: disintegration, superhuman endurance, agility, and stamina**

 **Eduard** **Von Bock Age 28: superhuman tracking, technopathy, electric manipulation**

 **Bella** **Anderson Age 26: Animation, superhuman strength, reflexes, agility**

 **Katyusha** **Braginskya Age 25: Healing, Superhumanly acrobatic, plant manipulation**

 **Liam** **Kirkland Age 18: Animal communication, animal imitation (different from animal morphing in that one only takes on an ability of an animal, not its appearance)**

 **Erland Oxenstierna Age 10: Technopathy, superhuman senses (he's still young and awakened his powers later than a full blood mutant, so he might develop more on the way, but not now)**

 **Lucille Merimée Age 18: accelerated probability, subconscious telekinetic probability manipulation, superhuman agility**

 **Lars** **Anderson Age 28: probability manipulation, superhuman strength, speed, agility, and senses**

 **Reviews** **:**

RinKagamine002:

Sorry about the delay! I was a little distracted, but I think I have caught up with everything enough to be better about my updates now :D! Thank you so much :D! I'm glad you like the story!

Red-Hot Habanero:

Yeah XD, I'm pretty sure I have no reason to kill any more people? Maybe... I'm not sure yet, I didn't get this far in my notes XD.

Yup! Except- he's not as big a character in the story, of course, he's one of the Founders, but he didn't want to take on that role, so he's a background character. Although, still an important one! I wish it hadn't turned out that way, but somehow it did and I made him too old to ship with Russia, so I'm a little bummed XD. I do ship him with Ancient Rome, too, though...

That's great :D! Not that I like having pulled wool over your eyes, but I'm glad it's not predictable, although once you do know (after this chapter) you might notice a few things XD. I didn't mean for the story to go this way when I first started either, but honestly I had a dream and it was like "he did this" and I was like "No... he didn't" and it was like "Yeah, look. See? Here and Here. He was always there." and it just threw me off and it was like well now I gotta and I think this was the best way the story could have gone XD.

I know XD. I already have a foggy idea of how it went down and I can clear it up pretty well, but I actually don't know how to make them interact because I've never seen it, and especially after Allistor straight up left Francis behind because of his wounded pride, but I'll try my best! I'm kinda excited XD. I like background, it's fun.

I'm so glad you liked it :D! Thank you so much!

ElSameo:

Thank you so much :D! I just love drama in general XD. I'm glad you liked it XD. I had fun with their conversation, even though I didn't know where I was going with it and I had promised myself to keep my love for UsUk out of this XD. THANK YOU THAT'S SO NICE :D! Omg- XD that's great. I also appreciate the "*puns*" at the end because I am honestly very slow when it comes to puns XD.

 **Thank you so much for reading, reviewing, following, favoriting and stuff :D!**


	20. Chapter 20

**ehhhh e.e it took me months and was incredibly frustrating, but enjoy your 14k words of resolution that I** **had to split e.e. (I** **had to finish, my sister was mad judging me for starting a new one XD)**

When they had finally arrived, Arthur charmed the ship to keep it from revealing their location and did the same to the other incoming academy crafts. While he was occupied with that, Matthew and Lovino studied their surroundings as best as they could without wandering off: The island was much less tame than their home, but it didn't seem to have many animals inhabiting it. The only indicator that there were creatures there were the loud chirping of insects from the overflowing greenery, as if the plants themselves were singing.

Leo, Marcello and Peter rummaged around through the foliage looking for the insects while they waited before Wendy plucked them out of it, warning them about unknown animals and the danger of venomous bugs; they were _all_ very wary of their surroundings after that and wandered back to the ship's ramp where Alfred stood watching Arthur as he cast his spells.

It had been so long since he had seen him in action, excluding his weakened attempt of fighting at the academy, and he was honestly enraptured by the elegance of it. There was no physicality at all, just whispered words and- _magic._ It was almost beautiful and refreshing, seeing as most superhumans had to rely on strength and contact.

When he had finished, he had turned to Alfred with a quirked brow, as if to silently ask if he was impressed. Alfred only laughed in response and went to stand next to Arthur and wait for the others to join them. Lovino made a gagging noise and turned away from their flirty behavior.

"I'd rather take my chance with the killer bugs than watch the newly in love and awkward try to flirt," he said in disgust.

"Aren't you the same, Lovi?" Matthew asked with a laugh.

"You wish," Lovino snorted, shoving him lightly. "I'm a smooth motherfucker. _You_ on the other hand could learn a thing or two from me."

"Like how to get your arm shredded instead of kissed as a goodbye?" Matthew asked with an overly sweet smile and shoved back.

"What the fuck ever, that was his fuck up, not mine. I'm smooth, I said some intense shit, he just didn't know how to respond 'cause he's a-"

"Who are you two talking about?" Peter asked, tilting his head to the side. Beside him, Marcello and Leo were also looking up at them. Wendy, who had been asking Emil about his brother's abilities, turned to them as well, detecting an interesting topic.

Lovino and Matthew reddened and looked to one another, opening and closing their mouths in an attempt to produce an answer.

"Gilbert and Antonio," Leon stated simply. They all turned to him in shock.

"How do you know that!?" Marcello inquired, inching closer to the older boy.

"Yeah, they're _our_ brothers!" Peter exclaimed, clearly upset that he was kept out of the loop. Marcello nodded along eagerly. Even Emil seemed to be shocked by that knowledge.

"Matthew said he got kissed and Lovino got scratched. Antonio scratched Lovino and Gilbert kissed Matthew. Don't you remember?" The boys paused and thought it over, with the exception of Matthew and Lovino who were wishing they hadn't spoken. quite so loudly.

Peter and Wendy had remembered Matthew calling Lovino back, Marcello remembered Lovino telling Antonio to go with them, but other than that, they were kept behind Matthew and Leon. Leo was rather small, compared to the others, so maybe he'd snuck under their arms and seen something, but he didn't say anything about it. Emil clearly remembered Gilbert kissing Matthew, but wasn't present when Lovino was scratched.

"I... don't think your dad is gonna be okay with that, Matthew," Emil stated cautiously.

His brows were raised in concern before they furrowed as he looked down at the ground. Matthew was seventeen in appearance, but only about a year or so technically. Gilbert was at least twenty five, from what he knew, and was a hero at the same time his parents were, granted he _did_ start young, but that was beside the point. Berwald may not have been a violent or aggressive person, but this was his son, technically his youngest. Beside that, there was no saying how Alfred would react-

"What're you all gathered around here for?" Alfred asked with a good natured smile, Arthur was approaching just behind him, blushing for some unknown reason.

"The bugs!" Lovino called out, enthusiastically. The others nodded beside them, with the exception of Marcello, who looked confused.

"No we're not? We're talking about how Toni scratched Lovi and Gil kissed Mattie- ouch!" Marcello was subsequently kicked and nudged by Wendy and Peter in that order.

"That's right, he did... When we were escaping. What _was_ up with that, Mattie?" Matthew's eyes widened and he looked back to the others for help as Alfred stepped closer.

"What do you mean? They're dating, of course! They'd kiss during our training sometimes, too," Nikel said, approaching his friends, who groaned and hid their face in their hands at his response. The other academy students and heroes were drawing closer to their small group, too. Even Ludwig and Feliciano had turned away from their conversation to listen with them.

"You like Gilbert, Mattie?! Oh, that's so good, right, Ludwig? He's been single really long and I was starting to worry that he would get lonely, but this is great!"

"It's _not_ great. What the hell, Mattie? He's, like, ten years older than you. I mean, he's cool and everything, but you can't go around making out with people because they're interesting."

Matthew dropped his hands from his face, as his embarrassment was washed out by a newly serious and offended attitude.

"What the hell's _that_ supposed to mean?" Matthew asked, taking a step forward, the same way Alfred had.

They both stood their ground as the last of the heroes had approached. Both had their hands in fists and were only a few inches from each other.

"Alfred, that's enough." Arthur was completely ignored as Alfred clenched and unclenched his jaw, speaking through gritted teeth.

"It _means_ that you probably don't know how these things work, considering you're new here, but there's a _difference_ between who you have friendly conversations with and who you fuck."

"Alfred!" Arthur opened his mouth to reprimand him further, but Matthew waved him off.

"And you think I'm too stupid to know that?" Matthew asked with a bitter laugh.

The air around them quickly grew tense and a few of the heroes stepped back to give them space.

" _I_ think that you and Lovino are too close to _just_ be friends, unless that _is_ what you call a friendship. All I'm saying is try not to do anything stupid." Any other day, Matthew would have stepped back. He would have backed down or begun to tremble at Alfred's tone, but after everything that had happened, he was more than a little upset. Alfred couldn't hurt him, even if he wanted to, so he decided to give him a piece of his mind.

" _Why_? Why the _hell_ do you always treat me like a child?! I _know_ , okay? I know who I should and shouldn't sleep with, like I know that I actually _like_ Gilbert. Just- _stop_! I'd rather mess up and learn my lesson than have you constantly hovering over me telling me what to do! I _can_ take a hit, I _can_ forgive whoever I want, and I _can_ _fuck_ whoever I want. And for your information, we haven't, okay? But I'll make sure you're the first to know if and when we do so you don't have to worry yourself over _my_ life and can tell me how stupid I am right away," Matthew yelled back, shoving Alfred and making him stumble a portion, mostly out of shock.

Alfred was still. He opened his mouth to tell him that he just wanted to protect him. That he worried, and he was just as new at dealing with this as Matthew was. He'd never really had anyone to look out for; Peter was always pretty set. If anything, he would have to protect people from Peter, but Matthew... he was sweet and innocent and... vulnerable. He looked like a strong breeze could knock him off his feet, and he was as pretty as a doll. Any asshole could sweep him off his feet as easily as the wind. But, looking up at his red stained cheeks and the tears in his eyes, he figured he'd done enough damage and only nodded mutely, turning away.

Alfred turned to the others to discuss a plan, turning their attention away from his brother. Matthew's shoulders sagged as he turned away from the crowd that was currently relocating itself with Alfred at its center.

Feliciano tenderly pat his shoulder and gave him a small smile as he walked past him to join the others, while Ludwig nodded at him. The kids began to fidget before they encircled him and hugged him, mumbling their apologies, especially Nikel. Matthew only shook his head and smiled down at them, wiping his tears. He turned his attention back to the current situation.

A quick glance around revealed that the Kirklands were nowhere in sight, but that didn't last long as an image before them flickered, then took the form of the four men, with Allistor at their front. He stood straight and tall, representing a certain power that his younger brother lacked, and Matthew couldn't help but notice the furrow of Arthur's brow at the sight of him. He couldn't help but think to himself that Arthur seemed to give off a flicker of insecurity at the sight of them, but, as it was, they gave off an aura that demanded attention and obedience, which was proven no more true than when he began to speak.

"Everyone made it? Alright, we've been scoutin' the island, looks like everythin' is underground. Dylan wasn't able to get a good look, but he at least saw the makeup o' the place." He nodded to his brother, who knelt and began drawing lines into the sand.

Peter pulled away from Matthew and stepped closer to Arthur, who smiled down at his little ally and began combing his hand through his hair tenderly. Peter smiled sadly at the ground. He wondered how Arthur must have felt all those years, living practically on his own. He, of course, knew that Arthur protected the children's section, but he had always assumed it was something he was made to do, not something he did out of his loyalty to him.

Arthur paused his hand and gently tilted Peter's head upwards, noting a certain stillness that was not in the young boy's nature. His brows were furrowed, but Peter smiled shyly up at him, releasing some of the tension in his brother. They both turned back to Dylan's layout on the sand.

When it finally came together, a labyrinth was the end result: Some lines were dead ends, some would only allow you to go into a circle, while others were long winding halls that you could easily become lost in. It was obvious that the purpose was to keep intruders out and everyone else in. Neither Dylan, nor any of the Kirklands, seemed perturbed, and he quickly picked out the location of the heroes.

"This is where you'll find 'em. We'll go with ya, but once we make sure Francis-"

"What's your interest in him, anyway? Why would you come so easily at the first sign of danger to him?" Peter asked.

"Stay outta it, Peter."

"He's just feeling guilty, poppet. He knew Francis fancied him, and he still left him without a second glance, or even a goodbye, and now he's in danger when Allistor could have easily prevented that. As for the others, they'll just follow him around. Isn't that right?"

Allistor straightened, while the three behind him stiffened.

"Shut yer mouth, Arthur. We had more nerve than you. We left the academy, while you're still part of that pathetic cluster of dogs, ready to bark when told," he scoffed. Alfred took a step forward, but was placated by Arthur's hand on his shoulder and a small shake of his head. Arthur gently moved Peter away from himself and towards Alfred and approached the four opposing men.

"You didn't love him. He was absolutely smitten with you and all you did was string him along. You don't love him now, either, so let's not give him any false hopes. You won't speak to him. You won't even apologize to him. You aren't his knight in shining armor."

"And yer suddenly his protector? You two were always at each others' throats-"

"But I _stayed_." Allistor strode toward Arthur as he defiantly stood his ground.

"That's enough. Now is not the time. Any manner of things could be happening to them while we stand here and argue," Ludwig stepped in, bodily interposing between the oncoming fight.

Both of their eyes flickered towards Ludwig, before they turned back to each other. Neither wanted to be the first to move. If push came to shove, they could take Ludwig, easy, but there was also the problem of all the others, and so they stepped back. This wasn't the time. Not yet.

"Right," Dylan said, feeling anxious over their current positions. Any second now they could be discovered and attacked and the two parties weren't doing a very good job of working together. "At the north end of the island there's an opening under water, but once you're in, it looks like your powers would be neutralized."

"I can do it!" Feliciano called out, having done something similar months prior.

"That won't work, Feli. It won't be the same this time. We need... Mattie! You can get us in, right?" Matthew flinched at the sound of Alfred's voice, but he quickly noted that it wasn't angry as it had been earlier. Much to his confusion, it was back to his happy go lucky tone, if not a bit gentler.

"S-sorry, Al... Not unless I've seen a clear image of the inside."

"I can!" Michelle stated eagerly.

With her abilities, she could easily swim there herself or clear the way for their relatively large group.

"Yes, I suppose I can assist as well," Ludwig inserted.

Alfred thought it over and nodded slowly. It wasn't as convenient as teleporting in, but it was better than trying to swim the whole way, or punching a hole in the roof.

"Can you at least give us cover, Mattie?"

Matthew began to fidget. "Not unless everyone was able to keep a hand on me. I'm sorry, my powers are really limited." Alfred sent him a reassuring half smile and pat his shoulder.

"What about you, Artie?"

Arthur turned red at the implication that he might not have been up to it.

"Of course I can!" Alfred nodded with a small chuckle and gave another quick look around, trying to catalog everyone's powers. The children might have been useful, but he didn't want them anywhere near danger.

"Alright, Bella? Kat? Can you stay here and protect the kids? You're probably the strongest heroes we have left and I don't think it's safe to take them down there."

"Don't worry, Al. We gotcha covered," Bella reassured him.

"Please be safe. Alfred, I'm counting on you to bring me back my family."

"Don't worry. I'll keep everybody safe."

Once their way of entry was discovered, they began their break in: Arthur cast a spell over them, while Ludwig and Michelle weaved the water around them to create a dome and bring them forward. Lovino appeared agitated, constantly looking around himself and yelling at Ludwig to make sure no water got in while Matthew was in awe over all that could live underwater. Every fish was a different color, and every different color in a different pattern.

He'd had a chance to go to the ocean before things got complicated, but Lovino wasn't all too fond of water– he said it was too cold– but seeing it now, he'd make sure to drag him there again next time.

As they moved deeper into the water, a hazy black form could be seen growing larger, until they were right beside the protruding structure. A quick look around showed no entrances on any of its faces, which led them to believe it was hidden somewhere beneath; however, a few feet from their destination, the dome collapsed and so did the spell.

There was much frantic splashing as their footing was lost and they were trapped in suffocating darkness. Ludwig helped guide Feliciano to the surface, while many aided each other: Feliks took hold of Eduard and pulled him up, Allistor picked up Matthew, who had been walking beside him, Alfred helped drag Lovino and Dylan helped Arthur to the dim light that indicated a surface. They came up spluttering and panting, with the exception of a few.

"Thank you," Matthew gasped out when he finally could. Allistor regarded him for a moment before bending down to his eye level.

"Who are ya, anyway? Ya look like Alfred, but he ain't got any siblings," Matthew pulled away from his intense green gaze and instead turned his attention to his feet.

"W-Well, it's a long story, but I am his brother, in a way."

Allistor watched him a few moments longer before he turned away with a hum of understanding. "Same fer the little fiery one over there?" He asked, watching Lovino push his fretting brother away.

Matthew laughed and nodded. "Yes, he's my friend."

"'lright," he said disinterestedly, moving away to rejoin his brothers.

Matthew watched him for a while, curiously. He didn't seem like a bad person per se. Maybe a little distant, but it's not like he knew Matthew or Matthew knew him. Maybe he was a little biased, he thought. Allistor had just saved him after all.

He shrugged it off, if things went the way they were supposed to, he would be gone after this. When he approached Alfred and Arthur, they were already discussing their course of action.

"Shit, it's gonna be annoying trying to keep everything in line now, isn't it?"

"With communications down? Yes, but we'll survive." Arthur turned to Dylan. "What way must we go?" The man pointed forward, then to his right, then left, left again, right, straight twice- no, past two turns, right, right, straight past one turn, left, then right and straight the remainder of the way. The directions had Matthew's head spinning. If anything, it seemed to him that the others were just a wall over.

Allistor, Angus, Dylan and Patrick were the first to move forward, quickly followed by Alfred and his team, then Bella's team, and lastly Eduard's.

It was harder like this; A large group would be hard to hide if someone came, and was even harder to maneuver with. On the up side, they greatly outnumbered the guards for the time being. There was not a chance that in a place like this, they hadn't triggered some sort of alarm, so they had to move fast.

They had found out the hard way that it wasn't a few simple turns to their stop. The halls were long and there were doors all around, even to the side that they were meant to turn. It was enough to drive anyone insane if they had not known their way. Along with that, they had more than one encounter with a guard, but it was quickly taken care of; Even without their superhuman strength, Alfred, Allistor, and Ludwig were still stronger than the average person, and they each made a quick demonstration of their strength. It armed a few of them with guns, namely Vash, Matthew, and Emil.

When they had reached their last turn, they encountered another guard, which Dylan suggested they take the rest of the way with them, instead of killing. No words were spoken in opposition as the guard was hoisted onto Allistor's shoulders, so they all took it as a sign of approval and continued.

Alfred felt the pleasant giddiness of the adrenaline running through himself again, despite their current situation, and looked back to find Lovino, Matthew, and Feliciano with the same light in their eyes. He remembered in brief flashes Feliciano shattering the glass, carrying Matthew, the figures that reflected on the panel, and being found out after Lovino headbutt Antonio. A small laugh escaped from him, making Arthur turn to him curiously. He waved it off.

The final turn revealed, to their great displeasure, a sealed door. A print was required, of all things, and Alfred was all for crushing the small panel to see what happened, when Arthur stopped him, and Dylan pulled forward the unconscious guard. Relief, as well as confusion, washed over them when they realized that it would let them through.

Alfred shrugged it off; Maybe they'd been lucky enough to have captured the right guard, someone of high position who had free reign of the place. When he looked back once again at their large group, he saw Eduard regarding the man with a look of curiosity, but it was quickly disregarded as they ran through the opening.

Before them lay dozens of their friends and family, each of their cages with a pin pad- not a required thumb print. All eyes were already on the guard. All that was left was the matter of waking him up, which, considering how long he had been unconscious, wouldn't be too difficult of a feat.

Allistor dumped him onto the ground and the man groaned. He slowly turned over onto his hands and knees and made to stand when he realized the situation he was in and reached for his holster, only to find it empty, along with most of his other equipment. Emil pointed his gun at the guard then used it to signal to the other superhumans.

 _"Opnaðu það_."

Ludwig dragged the man up by the arm and threw him in front of one of the cages. Oddly enough, he didn't hesitate, and when the others saw the code that freed their friends and family, they spread out and opened the other cells. Two waves collided with one another as the captured ran to freedom and the free to the captured. Among the reunions that most caught his attention were Feliks and Toris, of which the former began to cry quite loudly, and Kiku and Heracles; Matthew didn't think he had ever seen such an expression on Kiku's face for as long as he had known him. It was heartwarming, but there was still the absence of a certain few.

Arthur turned a pointed look to Allistor and the others as soon as the missing heroes were freed, but he wasn't looking at him. Francis held a look of great relief to see Michelle, Matthew, and his fellow companions safe and sound, and even embraced them, as was his nature, but his smile quickly dropped when Allistor stepped up to him. No words could be exchanged that the other could understand, so all Allistor could do to express his relief was reach out.

Of course, Arthur was having none of it. He quickly interposed, knocking his brother's hand away and stepping in front of Francis, whose face had gone pale.

"I told you to stay away from him."

"Stay outta this, Artie-"

"He protected me once, it's my turn to protect him; you're no good for him, Allistor. Leave. You did what you wanted to do, now go."

"Ya don't make the rules here, Artie! He can decide fer 'imself what he wants!" Allistor growled, taking a step forward.

Arthur opened his mouth to yell back again; To tell Allistor that he had no right to string Francis along if he would just leave again, not when he was so easily swayed by love, when he wouldn't see that he was doing this purely out of guilt, but Francis rested a hand on his shoulder, nodded, and maneuvered him out of the way. He was about to argue when Francis threw a punch that sent Allistor reeling back. His expression remained calm as he spoke.

" _Nous sommes tous deux des hommes, non? Vous n'êtes pas mon chevalier, et je ne suis pas votre princesse. Vous ne m'avez pas sauvé, vous avez simplement accompagné ceux qui l'ont fait. Pars comme tu l'as fait il y a toutes ces années. Je ne vais pas pleurer cette fois."_ He regarded him for a moment with a cold look before he turned his attention back to Arthur, and pointed to the doors just beyond their enclosures.

Arthur nodded slowly, still surprised by his reaction before he fully turned to the location and called Alfred over.

"Wait!" Matthew ran up to the men, and tugged at Alfred's shirt. When he turned around to look at his brother, Matthew began to fidget. "Al- something's not _right_. This- all of this seems too easy. I... I think someone is toying with us-" Alfred stiffened and turned away. He'd probably already considered that, in fact, noting the expressions on everyone's face, they had all known that. It made him worry.

"Even if that's true, Mattie, we need to find the others."

"But we _can't. Alfred, please._ Don't you think it's strange that we have only encountered a few guards or that we just opened every cell and nobody has come? They could all be waiting on the other side, and we're hardly armed!"

Alfred hesitated for a moment and turned to the others who had paused in their celebration to watch the two. He saw the uncertainty in the eyes of those who still hadn't regained their whole family. He saw Francis regard him with confusion as he stared back to the door, then to Arthur and Alfred. He still had friends that were just beyond the door; friends whom he had yet to have properly apologized or explained himself to, and who he had known since he was a child. Arthur had the same unsure look in his eyes as he did. He knew that this could all be a trap, but he couldn't very well leave the others behind to suffer an uncertain fate.

"What else do you want us to do, Mattie?" Alfred sighed out and took the first step towards the door. His team quickly gathered at his side, with the other heroes behind him. Arthur and Matthew each took a side closest to him.

Alfred took a deep breath, looked to Arthur, and stepped through. Beyond the doors was the same scene, with fewer cages. When the last of the heroes had stepped into the new room, dragging the guard behind them, a steel net slammed down over the door separating the two rooms. The lights shone an eerie red, and, surprisingly, the cages opened themselves, allowing the captains to filter out hesitantly. Once they saw the others, they quickly ran to their loved ones.

Lukas and Mathias ran to Emil and pulled him into a hug and, for once, he didn't fight back. Emil wrapped his arms as best as he could around the two men as his eyes began to water and he began to mumble apologies. Elizabeta quickly made her way to Ludwig and Roderich to inquire about her son's health and whereabouts and the others came out with most of the same questions.

The last two to come out were Berwald and Antonio. Antonio cautiously stepped towards the group of superhumans, but looked completely ready to lock himself back in the safety of the cell when he saw Lovino's eyes land on him. The boy looked torn between completely ignoring him or approaching him and returning the strike he had given him; in the end, there was only one thing his nature allowed him to do and he stomped up to the man and landed a harsh blow that had him stumbling back a step and holding and testing his jaw.

Antonio was quickly distracted from his injury by warm lips on his. It was short-lived, however, as Lovino quickly pulled away with a blush and a quick glance around to make sure nobody had seen.

"Questo è come si dice addio." Antonio froze for a moment before he laughed and shook his head, which only darkened Lovino's blush.

"No te entiendo, pero en realidad no creo que lo haya hecho jamás. Me hace amarte un poco más. Eres increíblemente impredecible, pero todo lo que haces, lo haces con pasión." Lovino's only response was to raise a brow at the look Antonio was giving him as he spoke.

Words seemed to be wasted at that moment and Lovino wanted nothing more than to be able to understand the words that were paired with that adoring look. Antonio shook his head again and moved the hair out of Lovino's face.

"This is a lovely reunion, but aren't you missing a few things?" The end of the sirens and red flashing had gone unnoticed by the others, who were too caught up in their relief to take much notice of it, or even the strangers that approached.

The captains quickly shifted their loved ones behind them and stood at the forefront of their party, each in a defensive stance.

"Stay back-" Mathias growled out before he broke off from his threat. He glanced around to the others who were exchanging an equally confused look.

"The communication is back up," Lukas whispered, and it was quickly echoed throughout.

"Of course it is, I've turned off the device that neutralizes your powers."

"That was a stupid move, _human_ ," Elizabeta spat.

The man laughed, and a few of the heroes turned to her in shock, but no one said another word.

"No, I don't think it was. In fact, I don't think it would make a difference if your powers are restored or not. You won't touch me."

"And why the fuck not?" Antonio quipped, fists clenched.

"Because, like I said, I have a few things of yours that I don't think you'd want stolen, or otherwise broken."

"What the hell are you-" A quick wave of his hand had two familiar faces brought into the area.

Gilbert was paler than usual and had dark marks under his eyes. He had been sweating profusely, and had seemed so much... _smaller_ where he now lay unconscious in a guard's arms. Beside him, Tino was in impeccable condition without so much as a bruise. His eyes were cast downwards and he refused to look up, even when Alfred and Matthew called for him with evident relief in their voices.

In contrast, every captain's face was hardened in regards to him. Their concern was directed at Gilbert and only him.

"It seems you haven't forgotten what you have seen. I was going to ask you to choose one, but I suppose the choice is clear so, here. Take him," he nodded to the guard that held him. Gilbert was tossed at their feet with only a small groan to indicate that he was still alive. Matthew made to get to his side, but was unable to get through his brother and the rest of his family that had encircled him and had begun to look him over for serious injury.

His breathing was shallow, but at least he was breathing. Matthew wanted desperately to get to his side, but he knew it wasn't his place, so he simply watched for movement, or any kind of response.

Lovino tugged at his arm and signalled to the man straight ahead who had his parent on his knees, facing them with a knife to his neck, held in place by his hair and forced to acknowledge the group that stood in front of him. By the looks of it, he wouldn't run even if he was released.

"The choice was going to be over which one dies, however, so I suppose I'll have to kill this one. Do you have any last sentiments you would like to share, Tino?" Lovino tried to break through the wall of experienced heroes that separated the two, along with Matthew and Alfred.

Berwald turned his whole attention to keeping his sons back, and keeping himself looking away. Lovino was shoved back by Antonio, and almost knocked off his feet. When he looked up to the man, he simply shook his head.

"Come, Tino, we don't have all day. I'm sure the others would like to get back to the remnants of their home and fix what you helped destroy." He flinched at that, but made no move to deny it. Instead, he focused his attention on Lovino; he went still under the eyes so similar to Matthew's.

"The person at the academy... It was a lie. _It wasn't me_ ," his eyes flickered to the guard before he looked away and addressed the others. "I have been fooling you for seventeen years, spying on you, and even took advantage of our closeness to collect samples for the people here to study."

"Even from his own son; Isn't that right, Tino?" Lovino's mind went blank. The people around him and the words being spoken were replaced by his own thoughts and the pounding of blood in his ears. _'It wasn't me.' The DNA, the research, everything._ It really wasn't him. When he looked up, everyone had gone still. Alfred stopped trying to get around his dad, who simply held his still figure close, as Matthew took a shaky step back. Lovino pulled Matthew towards himself and dragged him to the guard.

"Take it off," he whispered as Matthew opened his mouth to question him. The scene lay behind them, unfolding, yet forgotten as the guard revealed the same face that was currently being held over a knife.

"Where's the original? He has him, doesn't he? He wouldn't kill him. He took all these heroes, all these samples, he would have wanted to make things like us, and you need the original for it. Please, we'll save you. You just want to protect him, don't you?" The man hesitated.

Lovino didn't know how much of his statement was true. He didn't know that he would protect his original, or that Matthew would, but he knew that the man dangled before the crowd as a scapegoat now was. He could have fled when he found out there would be an attack. He could've kept his image clean, he would've been considered a casualty, but he stayed and fought and was captured. He lead them here for something, and Lovino thought he knew what it was. He had looked right at him. _'It wasn't me'_ wasn't all too far from _'I'm not real,'_ it just meant that clone was further cultivated than either him and Matthew. He didn't develop an individual persona, but he did know he was a copy, and it looked like Matthew was beginning to catch on.

"Please, we don't have much longer. You could be trapped here all your life, this is your only chance. _We_ are your only chance." The man stared up at them for a moment, but quickly nodded after a quick glance back to the others who seemed enraptured and even a little appalled by what the man was saying.

Matthew grabbed hold of the two of them and they were quickly outside the cell room and in one of the halls they had passed on their way there.

"Where do we go now?"

"Wait, there's someone else you need to take with you, he'll help. He didn't want this." The three boys took off running, with Tino's copy in the lead.

"H-how long have you been here?"

"Since I was made. I- you lose track of time in here. Most of us have never even left this building, not until the attack on your home. I'm sorry."

"Why didn't you leave? Why didn't any of you fight back? You could have taken the original-"

"No, he was in tight security. If any of us would even try- an incorrect code would have caused the chamber to self destruct, or at least that's what he said."

"But why did he even keep him alive? I mean, are you sure he did?"

"He had to. Making a copy from a copy's DNA ended in distorted things that were far from human. I at least know he was still alive little under a year ago."

"How do you know that?" The man paused and turned to them in confusion, as if not knowing if the question was a joke. "Because that's when they made you."

"We... we come from him?"

"Yes, all clones do," he came to a stop in front of a door similar to all the others. "Here, this man is human, but he understands the importance of the heroes. He'll help once you get out." The guard quickly entered the pin and stepped into the room, where he was subsequently struck in the face.

"What the fuck are you doing?!" Lovino shouted as the man tried to shove past him. Matthew helped the guard off the floor.

"It's fine, it healed already," he waved him off and turned to the man that hit him. "These are students of the Academy."

That stopped him in his tracks and he turned to have a good look.

"You're the boy from the academy. The one that Alaric's kid kept us away from- are you on their side?" He took a small step away from him.

He must have been torn, seeing him with both Gilbert and an enemy guard. Considering he was locked in the room, he must have a newly found sense of danger when it came to trusting others.

"I'm on the Academy's side, we need you to bare witness to what you saw today. You need to expose what happened here," Lovino said. The conviction in his eyes took the man aback, but after a brief moment of deliberation, he nodded.

"Yes, of course, anything that would get us back into the Academy's good graces. What I've seen here, what happened to Gilbert... it was horrendous and I'll help you expose it-"

"Good. Come, this way," the guard instructed, breaking into a sprint once again.

They wound through the halls faster than before, knowing that they couldn't have much time left. What was happening couldn't possibly have a peaceful end. It took several minutes to reach the room, and once they had they were extremely out of breath, but the adrenaline kept them going.

"I don't know the combination, I don't know what's inside, I don't even know if your powers will be neutralized once you're inside, but he _has_ to be here," the guard said. There was a certain look of desperation in his features that voiced clearly that this was his last hope. That he'd lived day to day on this hope alone.

"Mattie, you need to-"

"Will-will I be able to go the whole way through, or will my powers be neutralized part way?"

"I don't know, I'm sorry. We... we can try to find another way-" The sound of footsteps caught them off guard and they looked around frantically for a place to hide before shadows could be seen turning. Matthew quickly grabbed hold of the people around him, with the exception of Lovino, who held onto him.

It was reminiscent of their own escape, but Matthew's powers wouldn't fail this time, Lovino wouldn't lose control; they wouldn't be seen and captured this time.

Their breathing was shallow and their steps were light as they backed themselves against the wall opposite the door. The man entered the pin, too far from them to see, but Matthew at least saw the inside. The door shut almost immediately, too quick for them to sneak in after. Two guards were left outside.

The guard quickly drew Matthew's gun, much to his horror, and released himself from his grip.

"Wait- don't!" The man aimed, and the two bodies fell to the ground. His shot was as good as Tino's had been.

"Why the fuck did you do that?! Aren't they the same as you?!" Lovino asked, staring at the two limp bodies in horror.

"I don't know, but I wasn't going to risk it. We all look the same, anyway. Some of us are loyal to our original, some to that man. We're not going to play that game, we don't have time. If he came here, that means he's leaving, and quickly, so we need to move, too."

"But how? We didn't even see the fucking code-" Matthew stole his gun back and ran at the door.

"Mattie! What the hell are you doing!?" It was all he heard before he found himself in the room, dizzy from the sudden power drain when he had teleported in. There wasn't much inside. It was dark, with small lights hanging from the ceiling, giving certain parts of the room a white glow.

"Hello, Matthew. Why have you decided to stray from your group? It's dangerous wandering through unknown places alone, you know. You could be hurt, killed even. Especially in here, where you can't run and hide like you were designed to do," the man rounded a corner, waving his own gun around in a dismissive manner which had Matthew looking at it all the same as if it were pointed at him.

"You know, you were my greatest success. Lovino could destroy things, sure, but _you-_ you could infiltrate anything and nothing could do it to you. You would have been a valuable piece. It's a shame you'll die never meeting your full potential."

Matthew stiffened. He was right. All his time alive, Matthew had been free from any real harm because of his powers. He had yet to really face an opponent fairly, like this, and he didn't want to. He felt as if he had lost control, but he kept himself in place. He wanted answers, and this was the man with all of them.

"How long? _How long have you kept him trapped here without anyone to care for him, with the same torture you dealt to us?"_

"Don't be so dramatic, I cared for him plenty. More than his parents, who handed such a youth because they didn't know how to deal with him. They didn't even have his best interest in mind, they were happy to be rid of him, I'm sure. He's been here... since he was 14. The torture... we'll say it went on for maybe two years, but by then we had already had him causing a ruckus and being taken into the academy- or rather, one of him.

"One year later I unlocked the secret to making an exact clone, but not one of another person, so I stored him in here and made my guards. It really was annoying trying to get them all in line, but who knew they would worship the original so much.

"Anyway, from all the samples he gathered, only two were compatible with his own because of how distant they were from his lineage. Romulus and Alaric, although in a much more diluted form, better known as Feliciano Vargas and Alfred F. Jones. The samples were rich in possibilities, the powers that could be drawn could have been incredible, but after several failures, we obviously had to tone done the catalyst meant to instill mutations and tried to let it happen naturally and voilà! Lovino was made and then you were and you pretty much know the rest."

"You're a monster-"

"No, right now that's you. In the eyes of all your classmates, parents, and friends. You and Lovino. You couldn't think that I wouldn't take advantage of your sudden disappearance? I pointed it out. 'Look!' I said, 'the last of the traitors have vanished with your hostage. They were _his_. They were made from him, of course they were loyal to me! The Vargas boy even managed to get Romulus killed, and Williams got Gilbert captured. They had managed to wrap so many of the heroes and captains around their finger on _my_ orders'."

"No- they'll never believe you. They-"

"Care about you? Trust you? No, you're different, you're not _real_. They were suspicious of you from the start, and they ate it up. You can't go home, you have none-" Matthew shot four times with tears in his eyes. He didn't want to hear any more. He was done with this, with all of it, and he just wanted his family back.

He quickly made his way around the room until he found what he was looking for, floating and peaceful in the gel, almost like he had been. He shot the glass, then struck it with his weapon until it cracked and poured itself out onto him. Matthew held his ground and wrapped his arms around the still figure.

He wasn't as strong as Alfred, but he had too much adrenaline and anger pumping through him to pay that much mind. He hauled the man into his arms and made his way to the door which, thankfully, didn't require anything for him to exit.

Outside, Lovino was pacing, the man stood staring with a troubled expression at the ground, and the guard was watching the door anxiously. When he had finally come out, Lovino was the first person in front of him with tears in his eyes.

"You're the stupidest motherfucker I've ever met, you know that?! You could have died! What the fuck would I do then?" The guard pushed away from the wall and approached them.

He looked to the still form in Matthew's arms in awe, and Matthew saw his hand twitch, as if to touch him, but he quickly tore his gaze away.

"There's no time to discuss that here, you need to leave immediately, there's been too much time wasted."

"You need to come with us! You helped us, you can't stay here," Matthew stated frantically, watching the uncertainty in the man's eyes.

He deserved every bit of a home that Lovino and Matthew did. If they made it through, he would have been the one that handed them back their home, Matthew thought, looking to the figure in his arms fondly.

"I _can't_ -"

"Why not?! Please, we want you to come."

"You really do deserve to come, if not to the Academy, then I can offer you a job working for me. Your testimony would also help build their case substantially," the man added. After a few moments of hesitation, the man agreed.

Matthew nodded.

They steadied their hold on him, and he gripped the body in his arms tightly just as everything began to go up in flames. Matthew didn't know how much of the island would be intact, or even how far the explosions would reach, so he took them to the safest place he knew, but, as he was about teleport, a hand let go of him. A blond flash was all he saw before they were engulfed in darkness, then reappeared again in the ruins of the Academy's island.

"No... _No!_ Why did he let go!? Doesn't he know he'll be killed! I can't... can we go back for him? Lovino, you can keep the fire away? We can go back for him!" Tears started building up in Matthew's eyes. He looked up to Lovino, who turned away, gnawing at the inside of his lip to keep it from quivering.

"Mattie... there's probably nothing left to save of him."

"No, but he can heal!" The tears began to cascade down as Matthew's breathing became sobs. His breath came out shallow, occasionally accompanied by a whimper as he looked between the two for a reassurance that they couldn't give.

"Not well enough to have survived that... I believe he was planning to do since he found you. He must have felt guilty, and I think this was his redemption."

"But that's not fair! He could have been _happy_! He deserved at least that much!" Matthew's tears continued to slide down his face as he gripped Tino's body closer.

The two let him continue to cry until there was nothing but weak sniffling.

"Mattie-"

"Do you think the Academy will take us back?" He asked, quietly.

Lovino stiffened at the suggestion that they wouldn't.

"What the hell are you talking about, of course they wi-"

"I'm sorry, I just- no, it's nothing, it should have passed now, right?" Lovino nodded slowly and looked up to the human, who gave a brief nod.

Matthew sniffed and tried to wipe his tears, but only managed to rub some of the slimy gel on his face. He let out an annoyed huff, then looked down to the body beneath him.

"He needs clothes. I don't want to take him back without clothes," he mumbled.

The human swiftly shrugged off his coat and passed it to Matthew, who draped it around Tino. Matthew took a deep breath, stalling for a moment longer and looking at his surroundings, before he held out a hand for the other two.

 **Translations:**

 **"Opnaðu það.- open it.**

 **Nous sommes tous deux des hommes, non? Vous n'êtes pas mon chevalier, et je ne suis pas votre princesse. Vous ne m'avez pas sauvé, vous avez simplement accompagné ceux qui l'ont fait. Pars comme tu l'as fait il y a toutes ces années. Je ne vais pas pleurer cette fois.- We are both men, aren't we? You are not my knight and I am not your princess. You did not save me, you have simply accompanied those who did. Leave like you did all those years ago. I won't cry this time.**

 **Questo è come si dice addio.- That's how you say goodbye.**

 **No te entiendo, pero en realidad no creo que lo haya hecho jamás. Me hace amarte un poco más. Eres increíblemente impredecible, pero todo lo que haces, lo haces con pasión- I don't understand you, but in reality, I don't think I ever did. It makes me love you a little more. You are incredibly unpredictable, but everything you do, you do with passion.**

 **I figured I'd give everything in the next chapter. So, yeah... Nothing to see here~.**


	21. Chapter 21

When they returned, they were a small while away from where their ships were. Matthews arms were beginning to hurt from holding Tino. "I think we can set him down he-"

"What the hell are you doing here?" They all looked up to find the large group of heroes they had left behind approaching. Matthew's eyes lit up in a mixture of joy, relief, and uncertainty.

"Alfred! You're okay! You're all okay, oh thank go-"

"I asked you a question." Matthew's brow creased at his brother's attitude.

They looked behind him to see the same anger reflected in the eyes of the others. He didn't seem completely fazed by it, however, which had Lovino looking down at him in confusion. Of course Matthew was hiding something from him, he wasn't stupid, he picked up on it when he asked if they would be welcomed back, but he didn't know what he knew, and he didn't know why he was hiding it.

Matthew gave a small, nervous laugh.

"W-what do you mean? Why wouldn't we be here? Anyway, look! Lovi and I found mom, and this man says-"

"Cut the crap, Matthew! We know you're a fucking traitor! You, Lovino, Mom, and whoever the fuck that is. You've been spying on us, you helped them attack, you're the reason we don't have a home. You're the reason Gilbert lost his powers," he growled.

"What?" Matthew searched the crowd frantically. "No! That's not true, we didn't have anything to do with this! None of us!"

"Don't fuck with us!" Alfred took a threatening step forward, but was quickly pushed back by Lovino.

"Don't take another fucking step towards him." Alfred let out a malicious laugh that made Lovino shudder.

"You know, I should've fucking expected it. Lovino was always starting fights, it was obvious he was disgusted by it all."

A quick look behind Alfred showed Antonio with a look of anger and frustration. Beside him, Feliciano didn't look angry or disgusted like all the others. What was reflected in his eyes more than anything else was hurt; the sorrow of betrayal that was echoed to a lesser extent in his own eyes, and yet, no one seemed to notice.

It made his heart stutter as he noticed that it was all directed at himself. All their hatred and pain, and even some of his own. A mocking 'i told you so' pounded through his mind and made it hard to think. It made him feel stupid for ever trying to convince himself that he was accepted by them. It was a doubt that had almost been forgotten and that he hadn't noticed was still there until now, and it kept screaming at him that he should have betrayed them, that they would have something to actually be angry about then.

"Stop-" Lovino took a small step back.

"How did it feel? Having Romulus jump to his death because of you?"

It got louder. It all got so loud.

"Stop-"

"You must've gotten one hell of a prize for it."

"I told you to shut up!" Lovino let loose a burst of flames that launched itself at Alfred, but was quickly stopped by Ludwig. A quick flick of the wrist sent water crashing against Lovino and pinned him to the ground.

Beside him, Matthew made to get up, but the figure on his lap limited his movements.

"Stop! Leave him alone!" Ludwig gave up his control of the water and Lovino coughed and spluttered and shivered.

"Please, Alfred, listen to me. We had nothing to do with any of this, and neither did Mom. This man- he wants to clear our name. He wants to tell the world what happened to us. He'll help," Matthew insisted, pleaded.

"I don't want his help, or your help. Give Tino to me." Matthew stiffened and his eyes widened a portion. He held the man closer to himself.

"No, please, just listen-" his pulse began to speed up at the realization that Alfred didn't care to hear what he had to say. There was no hesitation or flicker of doubt in his eyes. It was impossible to tell if he was even listening to him then.

"You've lied the whole time you've been with us, and we ate it up. We're not listening again. Not so you can screw us over."

Matthew watched helplessly as Ludwig, Alfred, Mathias, Lukas, and most of the other captains drew closer to them. Lovino scrambled to his feet and stood protectively in front of Matthew, Tino, and the man. He absorbed Ludwig's attack this time, his body only sliding back a portion. He weathered Lukas and Mathias's blows of concentrated energy, and Bella, Katyusha, and Elizabeta's attack through their surroundings, burning away any plants, roots, or creatures that lunged at them.

He fought harder than Matthew had ever seen him fight. He fought with a purpose, and still, after being a target greatly outnumbered, he kept it strictly defensive.

Nobody seemed to notice that.

He wasn't someone whose powers were defensive. He wasn't even the type of person who would simply block a hit, he would deal one back, and it killed Matthew that he didn't. It frustrated him to no end, but it also had him greatly relieved. He could feel his allegiance as it was still up in the air. He was, without a doubt, loyal to Lovino. He loved him more than anything, but he loved the people he had known at the academy. He just didn't know which he could bear to see hurt or dead.

Lovino would look back every now and then to make sure they were still okay, and Matthew saw the injuries blooming on his face.

He watched him heal and scar and scrape continuously, but when Antonio stepped forward to deliver a blow, Matthew couldn't sit and watch.

He picked up the gun he had laid beside himself, passed his mom to the man next to him, and disappeared. When he was back in sight, he had Alfred in a headlock, gun pointed at his headhead, presented in front of the large group. Lovino had been pushed behind him and Antonio quickly shifted back and stopped himself short. He knew it wasn't the smartest solution, but he didnt know how to make them stop and listen.

"Step back! I-If anyone makes a move against myself, Lovino, mom, or that man, I'll shoot him. If I feel my powers start to deplete, I'll shoot him. You can't touch me, not mentally or physically, so just listen." Alfred's struggles went through Matthew's body, while his head remained locked in place.

"This isn't going to do you any good, not only are you showing them you're a traitor, but a traitor willing to kill the people you used to call family. When you finish your sob story and let me go, we're going to kill you."

"I don't give a damn!" he growled, teary eyed and shaking. "I've seen too many people die and get hurt and I've killed and I've had enough of it for a lifetime! Do you know how frustrating it is speaking, yelling, the truth and not having a single person hear you? I want to cry and scream a-and throw things, but I know that it won't change anything! I'm just... I'm tired. I'm so tired and I dont understand why, Al." Alfred went still in his arms at the defeated sound of his voice and craned his neck to try and have a look at his brother's face.

"D-drop the gun, Matthew," he heard Lukas say, holding his hands up in surrender.

He knew what he must have looked like: some deranged boy, still soaked from the gel that gave him an odd glow, clothes rumpled, hair tussled, yelling about something that nobody was listening to with a gun pointed at his brother's head. He wanted to present a more credible image, but he didn't know how he would in the corner they had been backed into.

"Matthew? Not traitor? O-or liar? Or any other mean name? Why won't you listen to me?" he whimpered. "Is... is it really because I'm not like you? I thought we were... done with this. I thought I finally had a home. Why would I destroy something that was the only bit of light I had? Why would he?" Alfred's brows furrows as he tried to make sense of who 'he' was.

"What are you-"

"You turned on all of us pretty quickly, Al. I thought at least you would- Did you know mom was only 14 when this all started? He was so little, barely two years older than Peter. He must have been scared. I was scared. Do you think they were nice to him, like at the academy? They weren't. They took samples from him, experimented on him, and plucked as much out of him as they could before they sealed him away.

"That's harder than anything any of you have experienced. That's harder than anything Lovino or I have experienced. We didn't know a better life, or even a family before that, but he did. Do you think he waited all those 17 years for a savior? Maybe he thought his family would look for him or even ask about him and find out the truth. I wonder... if he ever understood that he was completely alone. Maybe the copy at the academy thought it would be you that would save him. Isn't that why we're all here? I'd like to think that the Founders' death was good for something..." Matthew's hold on Alfred loosened to the point where he was mostly hugging his brother.

"He's as responsible for what his clones did as Alfred and Feli are for what Lovi and I do," he said with a bitter smile. "I wish I could hurt you, but I can't quite pull the trigger."

Matthew released Alfred and pressed the gun into his hand as he slowly made his way to Lovino and the others. He dropped beside him and pulled him back to his lap. He had begun to think of all the horrible thoughts that could have passed through Tino's mind in all those years and he wanted nothing more than to hold him closely.

There was a significant absence of an attack against them that he registered in the back of his mind.

Alfred didn't make good on his threat and only approached the body behind him, as if in a trance. Lovino watched him warily, but relaxed when he saw Alfred drop the gun.

The others stood perfectly still, unsure of what to do, unsure of what was true. They couldn't tell what they believed from what they wanted to believe, and yet, no one wanted to act rashly again.

Hesitantly, Feliciano followed Alfred and knelt next to him, then Peter and Erland ran to their side, despite protests from both Arthur and Berwald.

Alfred laid a shaky hand on the man's neck, then laid his head on his chest.

"H-he's alive?" Peter asked as tears began to drip down his cheeks.

"He's alive," Alfred reassured him, petting his hair.

As if to prove the statement true, the figure began to stir. Just as they held their breaths, watching dazed purple eyes blink lazily open, a figure appeared between the two groups. Alfred and Feliciano scrambled to their feet and got into a defensive position, while Matthew, Lovino, Peter, and Erland created a small wall around the shifting figure.

"Yao- I- You're okay?" Alfred stuttered out, dropping his hands.

The man gave a quick look around, seeing the two opposing groups and scoffing.

"Of course I am, although I see you have all managed to turn on each other while I was gone. Leave it to Romulus and Alaric to be helpless without me," he said coldly.

Both groups fidgeted uncomfortably, looking to one another to see who would break the news of the tragic deaths to the man. In the end, it was Mathias who spoke.

"Yao- Romulus a-and Alaric are-"

"I know they're dead," Yao said; his voice blunt in a way that startled the others. Some physically drew back or flinched, while others only showed their concern through their facial expressions of varying repulsion, shock, and confusion.

"Why didn't- why don't you do something about it?! Our home is in ruins because of them!" Mathias boomed, thrusting an arm in the direction of Matthew's group, still not totally convinced of their innocence.

"It's not their fault. If anything, it's mine for not having stopped Romulus all those years ago."

"Then why don't you go back and do it?" Mathias ground out.

Yao raised a brow at his tone.

"So disrespectful. Children back then weren't so rude, and heroes followed orders. I don't do it because then I would kill Feliciano and Alfred's brothers and would keep Berwald's spouse away from him. No, things went exactly how they were supposed to; Romulus and Alaric were past their time."

"Then so are you," Mathias spat through clenched fists. He was quickly taking control of the conflict, although his following was much smaller now that Yao was his opposition.

"I am time. I can stop it or speed it up or push it back. I can end your time, too, Mathias. Watch yourself, I'm not seeing you playing any important role in the future. Clearly a disposable piece. Do you see it, too, Lukas? The future as of now."

Lukas furrowed his brow, recalling his own distorted image of the future.

"I saw everything going back to normal when we got out. I thought it was through their capture." Yao smiled caringly at him, as if a parent to a small child, but it wasn't condescending. If anything, it was almost proud.

"No, you're still not seeing the whole picture. Like all those years ago. Do you remember? Over twenty years ago you came to me and said you saw a boy and then you saw the island in flames. When you saw Tino, I remember seeing how wary you were. Rather, I don't remember, I saw it only moments before I arrived. Did you know he was scared of you? He thought you would give him up, but you didn't see the whole picture." Mathias turned to Lukas with an expression of shock and betrayal.

"Why- Why didn't you tell me? We could've done-"

"We wouldn't have been able to do a single thing, unless you count ostracizing a possibly innocent boy. Besides, my abilities were too unstable for me to have taken it seriously. It could have been two completely unrelated things, I didn't want to worry you," Lukas stated, plainly, refusing to turn to face his partner.

"I'm your husband!" He growled, turning Lukas to face him. The man shook him off and pushed him away, regarding him with a cold look.

"You were nothing to me then. You were my partner's jealous friend; I had no reason to confide in you." He paused and turned to the man beside him with a look of slight remorse and concern. "I am sorry I never told you, however, Berwald. Even when it was evident that you were falling for him, I should have planted that seed of doubt." Berwald nodded silently.

All the while, Tino sat still in Matthew's arms watching as his name was tossed around by people he had never met, trying to make sense of things from what he had heard, as no one offered any answers and he was too confused to ask any questions, or even know where to start.

Finally, the man who had only appeared moments ago turned to him and addressed him directly.

"Tino, could you come for a moment. Matthew, may I borrow him?" Matthew slowly released him and nodded when Tino turned and gave him an uncertain look.

Yao held out a hand for him to hold. "I would ask one of them to transfer the thoughts of the Academy's copy to yourself, but I don't believe they would do anything to your or my benefit as of now, and I'm sure that they have killed him," he said, turning to them. Some looked away, some met his gaze head on as he continued speaking, describing the events they had just witnessed and that had them flinching and shaking as they remembered. "He must have been scared. He must have tried to argue his case, or did he blame himself so much that he let you take him out with ease?

"Poor boy. It must have been hard seeing everyone you had come to love in little under twenty years turn their back on you because of something that was out of your hands. He truly loved all of you, you know. He had given you everything, he had risked his life for you, or rather, placed it in your hands, only to have you toss it out as if he were some filthy insect. I was hoping he could have come out of this safe, as well, but it can't be helped." The others were silent, recounting the events with a new view.

Feliciano let silent tears trail down his face while some lowered their heads. Eduard slowly lowered himself to the ground and covered his face as he thought of the loss of his closest friend and Berwald was stark white. He covered his mouth and Matthew could see small glimmering tears running down his cheeks. He looked sick to his stomach and was being held steady by Lukas, but Yao didn't look concerned for the reaction he had invoked, in fact, it may have been his purpose. He simply turned to the man beside him and spoke gently to him.

"I'll show you what you have done and you can choose what you want to do." Tino slowly nodded.

There wasn't so much as a flicker in the time that Tino and Yao left and the time they returned that would have allowed an outsider to understand that Tino's drop to the ground and subsequent tears weren't spontaneous. Yao let him collapse at his side and stood idly by as the six boys ran to his side. He turned to see the human at a loss and slowly made his way over as Tino began to address the others.

"I-I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I didn't- I mean- I-I don't know what to say t-to- I'm not the man who raised you, or who read stories to you, or who l-loved you for so long. I'm- I'll never be that person I can't take back his memories or his role. It-it won't be the same with me. I think... I think it'll just make it worse... I won't cause any more harm."

"Then we should go. C'mon, Tino. We can live with the humans," Lovino said, helping him off the ground.

"B-but they're your family," Matthew shook his head.

"No, you are."

"I understand, you are my children after all?" He said with a small laugh.

Matthew smiled back, seeing that smile on his face after so long. It made him feel as if things were back to normal, if only for an instant. He saw the others react to it, too. They turned to it like a plant to the sun.

"Wait," Berwald said, taking a step forward. "Doesn't matt'r if ya 'ren't the same person. Yer one o' us. Romul's and Al'ric never turned any o' us away. Ya c'n stay. No- ya should stay." Tino smiled kindly at him in a way that made the other blush and look away.

"Thank you, but I think this way it would be easier to understand that I'm not the man you had a family with, or fell in love with, or knew for all those years. I think... there are some similarities, but-"

"But I do und'rstan'. Yer th' person tha's willin' ta give up a possible fam'ly, friends, home 'cause ya don't wanna be an inc'nvenience. Yer the person tha's had all that denied ta 'im fer 17 years. Ya deserve it. Ya all do." He said, looking up at Matthew and Lovino.

"I don't want it," Lovino snarled. "I've had it and it was a pain in the ass. The only good thing was that Mattie was safe and sound next to me and you can't guarantee that if we go back. He's a hero now. He has obligations and heroes die. I'm not taking my chances, and I'm not letting them do it, either."

"Everyone dies, Lo-"

"I saw Romulus get killed in front of me, for protecting me. Even if you don't think I gave a fuck, I did, and don't tell me that everyone dies. I know. Believe me when I say I know that more than anyone here and no one is taking them from me."

"But you don't," Yao said, approaching the scene again. He sent the boy a small smile. "A lot of people can die in the span of a thousand years, Lovino. Sometimes even the people you think are immune to such a thing. The important thing is not whether they live or die, but whether you actually lived while they did, and that doesn't include constantly shielding them from everything. It's not fair to either of you. I understand if you don't wish to live with us; Romulus treated you unfairly, but is that what Matthew wants?"

All eyes were on Matthew, but, for once, he didn't squirm under the attention, but looked to Lovino and Tino. They had both decided what they wanted, he thought, looking over all the others. He saw his dad, Lukas, Mathias, Antonio, Francis, Arthur, Feliciano, Peter, Erland, and finally, Alfred, whose remorse was displayed more plainly than anyone else present. When he spoke, he looked only at Alfred.

"I-I don't know... It's... incredible how easily people can turn against you and it scared me... I thought we would honestly die here. Are we going to be blamed for everything that goes wrong in your lives now because we are different? It keeps happening... I think... Lovino, and even mom are the only ones who have somehow remained consistent. Maybe because we're all the same. I'll go where Lovino goes, I'm sorry." Alfred nodded in understanding.

"Mattie- I... I don't wanna say I'm sorry because it's stupid and it won't fix anything, but you have to understand the situation we were in."

"Please, Lovi. We were scared and we didn't know how much we could bear to lose again. You're my brother. I loved you from the moment I saw you and I was so happy when I did. I protected you once, I stood on your side. I can't say I'll always be there for you, but you are my brother," Feliciano pleaded.

"Nobody died when you had us cornered. You could have stood with us, even if you didn't believe us. Instead, you chose to try to kill us. You are not my brother. I'm only your clone," Lovino whispered. His body wasn't tense as it usually was. His shoulders were slumped. He looked dull, defeated, tired.

"No. No, don't say that, Lovi."

"Please stay!" A small hand tugged at Matthew and Lovino's, then at Tino's as well. "You have friends with us! A family with us! A- A boyfriend with us! Or, at least, someone you like an awful lot." Lovino looked up at Antonio on instinct then quickly turned away with a deep blush when the two made eye contact. He couldn't forgive him so easily, he wasn't even sure how strongly he felt for him anymore.

He could actually feel something akin to hatred bubbling in his chest when he saw him. It hurt and weighed down on him whenever he saw him, but it was a more dull throbbing feeling than the sharp sting of hatred and anger. It wasn't love, either. He knew love, however limited. He felt it as a light joy when he had trained the kids with Gilbert, when he would joke with Matthew, when he would speak to Tino, and even when he managed to make Feliciano laugh or smile. This wasn't the same.

Beside him, Matthew didn't search the crowd; He had already noticed that Gilbert wasn't there. As for Tino, he only looked to the small child as he spoke, oblivious to Berwald's eyes on him.

"You two and mom... you can be happy together, but you'll only remind yourselves of what you've been through. You're like... a broken piece. All of you, but... you can't... fix something if you're broken, too. You need someone whole to help. We've all helped each other and we can help you, too. If you'll let us."

Lovino and Matthew shared a look. They saw their own tired expressions reflect on the other, then looked to Tino's innocent face, unsure of what the world held now. Wherever they went, he would go, and wherever he went, they would go. Together they would be happy, they knew that much. It was hard not to be, but it was also hard to forget the life they had grown accustomed to: Their classes, friends, family. Messing around after training, lounging about in Matthew's living room or room, going out with Alfred and Feliciano from time to time, stacking as many kids as they could on Gilbert, then adding themselves to the pile when he still stood, however shakily, and sending them all to the ground.

Would they still have that? Could they still have it? Gilbert had been stripped of his abilities, the trust they had in them had been all but shattered, and their families had been pulled apart. And yet, the memories were all there. They couldn't let go, they didn't want to. It was the happiest they'd been and they had no right to deny that to Tino.

Lovino spoke first.

"I... I'll never fucking forgive you for turning on us, and I mean it, I'll have a shittier attitude, if you thought normal me was bad, you're in for one hell of a shit show. A-and who even said I liked the tomato bastard, anyway!? I don't need help, either! I'll go because... because I don't want you guys to feel like shit for treating us like shit because I'm way more mature than you bastards" he paused. "Mattie, do you..." Matthew laughed and nodded.

"I told you I'd go wherever you went, and besides, I can agree with you on most of that." Lovino gave him a small smile and linked their hands. Both boys then turned to Tino.

"Mom, will you?" All eyes turned to him and he became flustered.

"I-I think I'll give it a go? If you are willing to forgive them, then you must still care, and i wouldn't want to take you away from them. They seem kind enough, from what I saw. It might be a while before I'm in action again, though. Seventeen years of inactivity have probably taken a toll on me," he grew quieter as he spoke, rubbing the back of his neck nervously.

"Ya still look really good." The color drained from Berwald's face at the realization of what he had just said before it came back full force in a brilliantly dark shade of red. He cleared his throat and looked away.

Tino only laughed at that and smiled up at the man with piqued interest. "Maybe you could help me get a firm grasp of things when we get back." His statement did nothing to placate Berwald's blush and only managed to make him stutter nervously.

Lovino wasn't sure if the wording was intentional or not, but he covered Peter's ears, nonetheless.

"I give them three months," Matthew whispered to him.

"I give them two," Lovino muttered back. "I'm sure Yao showed him everything, in particular, things that would... influence the way Tino sees your dad."

"You're not saying- No... no way, he probably skipped over that."

"I don't think so, he seems the type to be thorough." Both boys glanced back to find Yao standing alone, the man long gone.

"What the hell happened to the human?" Mathias asked, catching on to their range of vision.

"I wiped his memory and sent him back. Nobody needs to be given any ideas from what the publicity of this event might cause. It's safest to return things to the way they were."

"So.. that's it? Yer never gonna talk about this again? Thought ya had more o' a backbone, Yao." They turned to see who had spoken, only to see Allistor and the others still there. They had not said a word throughout the previous exchange, as it did not concern them. Not until now, anyway.

No justice was done for any of the captured superhumans. Yao would make it as if nothing had ever happened, and nobody would argue against the remaining Founder. Yao quickly caught on to his challenging tone and turned to face them.

"Oh, joy, the rest of the Kirklands. It almost slipped my mind that you would return." He turned to Allistor. "How's your face? Or rather, your pride? Must be hard being rejected so blatantly after you came to save him. You'll be happy to know that Francis isn't the child that trailed after you all those years ago. Isn't that right, Francis?" All the attention swung away from Matthew and his group to Allistor and Francis.

"Mind yer own business," Allistor snarled.

"But this is my business. Step away from that boy if you intend to leave. Arthur has already instructed you to do so, and yet you remain here. Do you plan to return to the Academy?" He slowly approached them with all the regal elegance that he had gained through his years alive. A display meant to show Allistor that he was beneath him. Behavior that was uncommon, but not rare.

"With Romulus gone-"

"His rules will remain in place, I assure you." Allistor balled his hands into fists.

"You don't want us back, Yao. I know that much, and if you do, it's to act as stand ins now that Romulus and Alaric can't run the show and you're unwilling to reveal yourself to the humans."

"You're right, but if you can't, I have many others to choose from. I could even offer the position to Gilbert, he was practically one of the few that was allowed to sway their decisions. Even if he isn't a superhuman, anymore, he was one, and I won't be casting him out. I'll do everything I can to restore him. Now, I will not ask again: Are you staying, or not?" Allistor let out a sigh and glanced around. Arthur looked anxious, but he didn't know whether it was because he wanted them gone, or was hoping thy would stay, although the latter didn't seem too likely.

"What'd'ya think?" He said, turning back to his brothers. He'd been dragging them along most of their lives, and he wanted to make sure he would be taking their decisions into consideration for his own.

"I... I want to stay, Allistor. It was fine living with the humans, but it was always infuriating to hold back. Besides, I miss Peter," Dylan said, smiling down at the boy as he spoke. He let out a small sound of indignation and turned his body to Matthew's to hide his pouting face.

"I agree, sometimes I felt like everything was gonna bubble over and explode," Angus said, scrunching up his nose in distaste.

"I never got the hang of living around humans, anyway. They're all so delicate," Patrick shrugged.

Allistor let out a small chuckle and nodded. "'lright, guess we're stayin', but ya can give that job ta Gilbert. He deserves it way more than I do."

He quickly turned his attention to Francis and stepped closer to him. "Now that I'm stayin', I can court 'im, right? By the way," he said with a mischievous smile, leaning closer to the man, "I know very well you're not my princess. You lack a certain helplessness and... submissiveness." Francis pulled away in shock as his face steadily darkened. Allistor taking his face into his hands did nothing to improve his burning blush. "You loved me once, you can love me again."

"I'll remind you that there are children present," Arthur spat, not all too happy that he'd have to cope with his brothers again.

"Of course I wouldn't forget that you and yer boyfriend are here, Arthur! By the way, Jones, no one gave ya permission to date my brother. I'll fight ya for 'im."

Alfred's eyes shone with the promise of a challenge. "You're on!"

"Not here, not now. We need to start rebuilding, and I don't intend to do it all myself," Yao stated, walking past them and to the Academy planes. "It appears that there are too many heroes, so, Matthew, I'm going to need you to take a group, I'll take one as well, you four can get there yourselves, and the rest of you need to sort this out."

Matthew nodded, overcome by the sudden joyful, and even playful air that overtook the heroes.

 **I FINISHED**

 **Sorry! I honestly thought I was going to be able to finish this sooner, but I kinda blanked out, and keeping track of so many people is a little hard, especially trying to represent everyone's part in the story XD, but, in my defense, this is pretty much two chapters long and my way of writing a chapter isn't very efficient, but it's summer now, so and i have nothing to worry about :D. By the way, did anyone notice that part in the summary that said 'almost nonexisting case' ? Do you get it now XD? I wasn't trying to tone down their specialness, or whatever, it was a little bit of a heads up XD. ANYWAY! I totally finished my first fanfic, and I'm so sorry it ended up so long XD. I might write an epilogue or something, but I think this is a nice place to stop. I'm a little sad,**

 **Translations:**

 **"Opnaðu það.- open it.**

 **Nous sommes tous deux des hommes, non? Vous n'êtes pas mon chevalier, et je ne suis pas votre princesse. Vous ne m'avez pas sauvé, vous avez simplement accompagné ceux qui l'ont fait. Pars comme tu l'as fait il y a toutes ces années. Je ne vais pas pleurer cette fois.- We are both men, aren't we? You are not my knight and I am not your princess. You did not save me, you have simply accompanied those who did. Leave like you did all those years ago. I won't cry this time.**

 **Questo è come si dice addio.- That's how you say goodbye.**

 **No te entiendo, pero en realidad no creo que lo haya hecho jamás. Me hace amarte un poco más. Eres increíblemente impredecible, pero todo lo que haces, lo haces con pasión- I don't understand you, but in reality, I don't think I ever did. It makes me love you a little more. You are incredibly unpredictable, but everything you do, you do with passion.**

 **Superpowers:**

 **Allistor Kirkland Age 38: Superhuman strength, superhumanly acrobatic, flight**

 **Dylan Kirkland Age 32: Memory manipulation, telepathy, mind control, psychometry, telekinesis, superhuman endurance, strength, and agility**

 **Patrick Kirkland Age 35:Magic, superhuman endurance, speed, agility, reflexes**

 **Angus Kirkland Age 35: Science manipulation (pretty much what it sounds like XD? You can manipulate the laws of science however you want or make new ones) superhuman endurance, agility, reflexes**

 **Lien Chung Age 18: superhumanly acrobatic**

 **Mei Xiao Age 18: empathic power randomization**

 **Im Yong Soo Age 18:imagination manifestation**

 **Toris Laurinaitis Age 18: Telepathy and Telekinesis**

 **Jett Kirkland Age 18: Animal communication, animal morphing, enhanced senses**

 **Feliks Łukasiewicz Age 18: Earth Manipulation**

 **Heracles Karpusi Age 18: Empathy, superhuman strength, endurance, and reflexes, psychic weapons**

 **Natalya Arlovskaya Age 18: sonic screech, superhuman reflexes, agility, and speed**

 **Michelle Mancham Age 18: water breathing, water manipulation, superhuman stamina, endurance, and agility**

 **Kiku Honda Age 18: Mimicry, power enhancement**

 **Emil Steilsson Age 18: Weather manipulation, superhuman speed, stamina, and reflexes, levitation**

 **Nikel Anderson (Luxembourg) Age 10: Amalgamation ( the ability to fuse things with one's self or each other)**

 **Leopold Edelstein (Kugelmugel) Age 8: hard light constructs, superhuman agility and reflexes**

 **Marcello Vargas (Seborga) Age 12: atomic manipulation**

 **Wendy Kirkland (Wy) Age 11:telepathy, telekinesis, psionic blasts**

 **Lili Zwingli Age 12: animal communication, superhuman endurance, agility, and reflexes**

 **Peter Kirkland Age 12: Shapeshifting, superhuman endurance, reflexes, and agility**

 **Elizabeta Héderváry Age 29: nature manipulation**

 **Matthew Williams Age 17: Invisibility, teleportation, intangibility**

 **Mathias Køhler Age 32: forcefield generation, energy blasts, superhuman strength and endurance**

 **Berwald Oxenstierna Age 32: Adamantine body armor, absorption, superhuman strength, endurance, and reflexes**

 **Lukas Bondevik Age 32: Astral projection, summoning, telepathy, energy blasts**

 **Tino Vainamoinen Age 30: duplication, echolocation, superhuman reflexes and agility, healing factor**

 **Alfred F. Jones Age 17: Superhuman strength, agility, endurance, stamina**

 **Feliciano Vargas Age 18: Superspeed, healing factor, superhuman stamina**

 **Francis Bonnefoy Age 27: illusion, possession, power neutralization**

 **Alaric Beilschmidt (Germania): superhuman strength, flight, telepathy, reduced aging (deceased)**

 **Romulus Vargas (Ancient Rome): Superhuman strength and endurance, flight, reduced aging (deceased)**

 **Lovino Vargas Age 18: Fire and heat manipulation, infrared vision, healing factor**

 **Antonio Fernandez Carriedo Age 26: animal communication, animal morphing, enhanced senses**

 **Leon Wang (Hong Kong) Age 18: portal creation, superhuman speed, agility, and strength**

 **Ludwig Beilschmidt Age 17: elemental transmutation, elemental manipulation, superhuman endurance and strength**

 **Gilbert Beilschmidt Age 27: disintegration, superhuman endurance, agility, and stamina**

 **Eduard Von Bock Age 28: superhuman tracking, technopathy, electric manipulation**

 **Bella Anderson Age 26: Animation, superhuman strength, reflexes, agility**

 **Katyusha Braginskya Age 25: Healing, Superhumanly acrobatic, plant manipulation**

 **Liam Kirkland Age 18: Animal communication, animal imitation (different from animal morphing in that one only takes on an ability of an animal, not its appearance)**

 **Erland Oxenstierna Age 10: Technopathy, superhuman senses (he's still young and awakened his powers later than a full blood mutant, so he might develop more on the way, but not now)**

 **Lucille Merimée Age 18: accelerated probability, subconscious telekinetic probability manipulation, superhuman agility**

 **Lars Anderson Age 28: probability manipulation, superhuman strength, speed, agility, and senses**

 **Rolling the superpowers like end credits XD**

 **Reviews:**

Olivia Kirkland: I know, I'm sorry, but I hope this helped you understand a little better :D?

Red-Hot Habanero: Don't worry about it :0, it happens. I got really distracted towards the end of this semester, too. It got really bad XD I failed a class, but yeah :D it just makes me happy that you reviewed at all :D!

Yeah... you gotta admit it makes sense, though XD? Did I make it better with these last two chapters XD?

Thank you so much! I put this off for so long because I wanted the last chapters to be good, and I kept reading them and they weren't enough, and so I put them away for a bit because I figured I was just sick of rereading XD. I'm sorry it took so long, and seriously thank you for saying something nice every chapter, I really appreciated it!

 **Thank you so much for reading this whole thing through, it seriously made me really happy to see you follow, favorite, and review, and I'm really happy to have seen this all the way through, too! SO... yeah... that's it! (Maybe an epilogue).**


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